gigolo

noun

gig·​o·​lo ˈji-gə-ˌlō How to pronounce gigolo (audio)
ˈzhi-
plural gigolos
1
: a man supported by a woman usually in return for his attentions
2
: a professional dancing partner or male escort

Examples of gigolo in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web Joey Evans is a charming cad, a heel, an unapologetic womanizer, a gigolo. Brian Seibert, New York Times, 28 Oct. 2023 McCormack, who makes a believable-enough gigolo, is both underused and overshadowed. Naveen Kumar, Variety, 24 July 2023 Corenswet showed off his Golden Age of Hollywood vibes as Jack Costello, an aspiring actor who finds more success as a gigolo for mature, powerful women than as a leading man. 2022 proved a big year for Corenswet. Maureen Lee Lenker, EW.com, 28 June 2023 The movie is about an unhappy nurse, Martha, and a scuzzy gigolo, Ray, who draws Martha into his scheme of luring lonely old ladies into their nest and killing them for their pensions. Doreen St. Félix, The New Yorker, 22 June 2023 Jon Bernthal did not find any pleasure in playing a gigolo on American Gigolo — at least, according to Rosie O'Donnell. Emlyn Travis, EW.com, 15 June 2023 The pilot introduces us to former gigolo Julian Kaye (Jon Bernthal) when he’s suddenly exonerated of wrongful murder charges after serving 15 years in prison. Lorraine Ali, Los Angeles Times, 9 Sep. 2022 In her final film, Welch portrayed widowed billionaire Celeste Birch, the target of Maximo, a rusty gigolo who’s made his career seducing wealthy older women. Los Angeles Times, 15 Feb. 2023 But this Latin lover gets some competition for her affections from his best friend, another conniving gigolo (Rob Lowe). Brian Truitt, USA TODAY, 15 Feb. 2023

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'gigolo.' 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

French

First Known Use

1922, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Time Traveler
The first known use of gigolo was in 1922

Dictionary Entries Near gigolo

Cite this Entry

“Gigolo.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/gigolo. Accessed 28 Mar. 2024.

More from Merriam-Webster on gigolo

Love words? Need even more definitions?

Subscribe to America's largest dictionary and get thousands more definitions and advanced search—ad free!