Entry Word: gang

Function: noun

Meaning: 1 a group of people working together on a task <a gang of neighborhood residents spent the weekend cleaning up the park>

Synonyms band, company, crew, outfit, party, squad, team

Related Words army, battalion, brigade, corps, troop; force, host, posse, stable, troupe; administration, department, help, personnel, staff

2 a group of people sharing a common interest and relating together socially <the whole gang went out for pizza> <the school's computer hackers had their own little gang>

Synonyms body, bunch, circle, clan, clique, community, coterie, crowd, fold, lot, ring, set

Related Words bevy, covey, flock, herd, horde, mob, swarm, throng; club, college, fellowship, guild (also gild), league, organization, society; cohort, pack; camp, faction, sect, side, tribe; mess, squad; brotherhood, fraternity, order, sisterhood, sodality, sorority; commune; alliance, bloc, coalition, confederation, congress, council, federation, union

Near Antonyms loner; individualist

3 a group involved in secret or criminal activities <politicians promising to stop the growth of inner-city gangs> — see ring 1