gallows

1 of 2

noun

gal·​lows ˈga-(ˌ)lōz How to pronounce gallows (audio)
-ləz,
in sense 3 also
-ləs How to pronounce gallows (audio)
plural gallows also gallowses
1
a
or less commonly gallows tree plural gallows trees : a frame usually of two upright posts and a transverse beam from which a noose is suspended and that is used for executions by hanging
… I'll be lucky if they don't whip me to the bone. More likely I'll be hung from the gallows.Sid Fleischman
b
: the punishment of execution by hanging
2
: a structure consisting of an upright frame with a crosspiece
… it's all hands on deck when the captain decides to raise or lower the sail. This is a demanding and dangerous maneuver as the yard and furled sail normally rest on gallows in line with the ship …Rich Harbert
3

gallows

2 of 2

adjective

: deserving the gallows see also gallows bird, gallows humor

Examples of gallows in a Sentence

Noun He was sentenced to death on the gallows.
Recent Examples on the Web
Noun
Parker Lyons, a senior financial analyst at Twitter, fired off a series of gallows-humor tweets late in the week joking about LinkedIn recruiters circling and about angst over checking his email. Sarah E. Needleman, WSJ, 5 Nov. 2022 In the end, Poe has the opportunity to turn Landor in and send him to the gallows, but instead decides the detective has suffered enough and burns the evidence. Megan McCluskey, Time, 6 Jan. 2023
Adjective
Thankfully, Preston suffuses the piece with a gallows humor that proves absolutely crucial. Longreads, 12 Apr. 2024 There is a gallows humor in their songs about addiction and inertia, with a strong anti-capitalist streak to boot. David Renshaw, WIRED, 26 Dec. 2023 See all Example Sentences for gallows 

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'gallows.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

Word History

Etymology

Noun

Middle English galwes, galwes, plural of galwe, going back to Old English galga, gealga, going back to Germanic *galgōn "pole, stake, pole on which a condemned person was hung" (whence Old Saxon galgo "gallows, stake," Old High German galga, galgo, Old Norse galgi, Gothic galga "stake, cross"), going back to dialectal Indo-European *ǵholgh-, whence also Lithuanian žalgà "thin stake" and perhaps Armenian jałk

First Known Use

Noun

before the 12th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1a

Adjective

15th century, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler
The first known use of gallows was before the 12th century

Dictionary Entries Near gallows

Cite this Entry

“Gallows.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/gallows. Accessed 31 Oct. 2024.

Kids Definition

gallows

noun
gal·​lows
ˈgal-(ˌ)ōz,
-əz
plural gallows or gallowses
1
: a structure from which criminals are hanged
2
: the punishment of hanging
was sentenced to the gallows

More from Merriam-Webster on gallows

Last Updated: - Definition revised
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