gangbanger

noun

gang·​bang·​er ˈgaŋ-ˌbaŋ-ər 

: a member of a street gang

Synonyms of gangbanger

• thug
• gangster
• criminal
• villain
• assassin
• bandit

Examples of gangbanger in a Sentence

the argument that the DEA needs to focus more on the kingpins of the drug trade and less on the gangbangers in the street

Recent Examples on the Web

The gangbanger brother of one of the men involved in a deadly nightclub shootout in Brooklyn faces federal charges for tossing two guns out of his window when police came looking for his trigger-happy sibling. — John Annese, New York Daily News, 1 Nov. 2026

Unfortunately the unmarked vehicle’s drivers are cops all too willing to arrest and pin dubious charges on their non-white, gangbanger-looking quarry. — Dennis Harvey, Variety, 26 July 2026

Wahhh’s career coincided with, and has benefited from, tattoos moving from society’s fringes (military vets, bikers, ex-convicts, gangbangers) into the mainstream and onto the bodies of school teachers, dentists, and maybe the person sitting next to you. — Rick Kogan, Chicago Tribune, 17 June 2026

Who signed off on gangbanger LaMar Cook being granted access to ship eight pounds of blow directly to Maura’s office suite in Springfield, as well as another 19 pounds of coke to a hotel on the UMass-Amherst campus? — Howie Carr, Boston Herald, 29 Nov. 2025

Word History

Etymology

gangbang + -er entry 2

First Known Use

1969, in the meaning defined above