gambol

1 of 2

verb

gam·​bol ˈgam-bəl 

gamboled or gambolled; gamboling or gambolling ˈgam-bə-liŋ 

also -bliŋ

intransitive verb

: to skip about in play : frisk, frolic

gambol

2 of 2

noun

: a skipping or leaping about in play

Did you know?

In Middle French, the noun gambade referred to the frisky spring of a jumping horse. In the early 1500s, its influence leapt into English twice, lending a playful bounce to both noun and verb forms of gambol. (The noun means "a skipping or leaping about in play.") Neither English word is restricted to horses, but rather can be used of any frolicsome creature. The more common of the two, the verb, suggests levity and spontaneity, and it tends to be used especially of the lively activity of children or animals engaged in active play.

Synonyms of gambol

Verb

• cavort
• dance
• romp
• frolic
• hop
• leap
• caper
• lark
• skip
• rollick
• tumble
• sport
• frisk

Noun

• spree
• romp
• revel
• lark
• frolic

Examples of gambol in a Sentence

Verb

lambs gamboling in the meadow

dog owners chat while their pooches gambol on the park's great lawn

Noun

she and her old college roommate headed off for one final European gambol before returning to the States to start their separate careers

Recent Examples on the Web

Verb

Those endless summer days spent watching Messi gambol around the football pitches of our souls? — Jack Lang, The Athletic, 14 July 2024

His nephew said that, for decades, his grandparents had kept alive a faint hope that maybe their hero son had just been captured and would one day come gamboling through the front door to the family’s Brookside home. — Eric Adler, Kansas City Star, 10 Oct. 2025

Noun

Once thought to be bipedal, hadrosaurs are now believed to have walked on all fours, though some species may have taken the occasional awkward two-legged gambol. — Gemma Tarlach, Discover Magazine, 17 Apr. 2019

His shakshuka takes the tomato-and-pepper mold and spins it into a gambol through fields of celery and coriander seeds, ground chipotles and sweet paprika. — Scott Hocker, theweek, 26 Nov. 2024

Word History

Etymology

Verb

in part verbal derivative of gambol entry 2, in part borrowing (assimilated to the noun) from Middle French gambader, verbal derivative of gambade

Noun

earlier "leap of a horse, leap, caper," probably apocopated variant of gambold, gambald, re-formation (by association with French-derived words, as ribald entry 2, ending in the suffix -aud, -auld) of gambade, borrowed from Middle French, probably borrowed from Occitan cambado, gambado, from camba "leg" (going back to Late Latin camba, gamba) + -ado -ade — more at jamb

First Known Use

Verb

1508, in the meaning defined above

Noun

circa 1510, in the meaning defined above

Rhymes for gambol

• bankroll
• bedroll
• borehole
• cajole
• catchpole
• charcoal
• condole
• control
• dipole
• downhole
• enroll
• extol

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Kids Definition

gambol

verb

gam·​bol

ˈgam-bəl

gamboled or gambolled; gamboling or gambolling

-bə-liŋ

also -bliŋ

: to run or skip about in play : frolic

gambol noun