gavel

1 of 3

noun (1)

gav·​el ˈga-vəl 

: rent or tribute in medieval England

gavel

2 of 3

noun (2)

: a mallet used (as by a presiding officer or auctioneer) for commanding attention or confirming an action (such as a vote or sale)

gavel

3 of 3

verb

gaveled or gavelled; gaveling or gavelling ˈga-v(ə-)liŋ 

transitive verb

: to bring or force by use of a gavel

gaveled the audience to silence

Examples of gavel in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

Noun

The first order of business in the House is its constitutional obligation to elect its speaker, a process that has created high drama in recent years as Kevin McCarthy took 15 ballots to ultimately seize the gavel at the beginning of the 118th Congress. —Lauren Peller, ABC News, 3 Jan. 2025

Ahead of Inauguration Day, Trump has been working to unify House Republicans behind supporting House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA), who is aiming to keep the gavel in a vote this Friday. —Asher Notheis, Washington Examiner - Political News and Conservative Analysis About Congress, the President, and the Federal Government, 31 Dec. 2024

Verb

Johnson is fighting to keep the Speaker’s gavel Friday as House members convene to elect their leader for the incoming Congress. —Caroline Vakil, The Hill, 3 Jan. 2025

President-elect Donald Trump on Monday threw his support behind Speaker Mike Johnson amid a fight over the House gavel that will culminate in a vote at the end of the week. —Soo Rin Kim, ABC News, 30 Dec. 2024

Word History

Etymology

Noun (1)

Middle English, from Old English gafol; akin to Old English giefan to give

Noun (2)

origin unknown

First Known Use

Noun (1)

before the 12th century, in the meaning defined above

Noun (2)

1835, in the meaning defined above

Verb

1925, in the meaning defined above

Phrases Containing gavel

• gavel-to-gavel

Kids Definition

gavel

noun

gav·​el

ˈgav-əl

: the mallet of an officer in charge of a meeting or of an auctioneer