gin

1 of 5

noun (1)

ˈjin 

1

: a colorless alcoholic beverage made from distilled or redistilled neutral grain spirits flavored with juniper berries and aromatics (such as anise and caraway seeds)

2

a

: gin rummy

b

: the act of laying down a full hand of matched cards in gin rummy

ginny

ˈjin-ē 

adjective

gin

2 of 5

noun (2)

ˈjin 

: any of various tools or mechanical devices: such as

a

: cotton gin

b

: a snare or trap for game

gin

3 of 5

verb (1)

ˈjin 

ginned; ginning

transitive verb

1

: to come up with : generate

—usually used with up

gin up enthusiasm

2

: to separate (cotton fiber) from seeds and waste material

3

: snare

ginner noun

gin

4 of 5

conjunction

ˈgin 

dialect

: if

gin

5 of 5

verb (2)

ˈgin 

gan ˈgan  ; ginning

archaic

: begin

Examples of gin in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

Noun

Its bar menu looks interesting, with various craft cocktails, plus those made with 0% proof whisky and gin. —Susan Selasky, Freep.com, 10 Nov. 2025

And just a few minutes drive outside the city, Black Fox Farm & Distillery grows its own grain, fruit, and flowers for its gin and whisky. —Billie Cohen, AFAR Media, 6 Nov. 2025

Verb

Vance began traveling the country over the summer to gin up enthusiasm for the Trump administration’s policies, some of which are polling poorly. —Joey Garrison, USA Today, 6 Nov. 2025

Still others have no purpose other than to distract Hedda from an otherwise purposeless life, just ginning up your run-of-the-mill ritualized humiliations that involve see-through garments, booze, inexplicably missing items, and literal guns on the mantle. —David Fear, Rolling Stone, 29 Oct. 2025

Word History

Etymology

Noun (1)

by shortening & alteration from geneva

Noun (2)

Middle English gin, from Anglo-French, short for engin — more at engine entry 1

Conjunction

perhaps by contraction from dialect gif if + an if

Verb (2)

Middle English ginnen, short for beginnen

First Known Use

Noun (1)

1713, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Noun (2)

13th century, in the meaning defined above

Verb (1)

1583, in the meaning defined at sense 3

Conjunction

1590, in the meaning defined above

Verb (2)

13th century, in the meaning defined above

Phrases Containing gin

• bathtub gin
• cotton gin
• gin mill
• gin rummy
• sloe gin

Rhymes for gin

• been
• bin
• chin
• din
• djinn
• fin
• finn
• grin
• in
• kin
• linn
• linne

Kids Definition

gin

1 of 3 noun

ˈjin 

: cotton gin

gin

2 of 3 verb

ginned; ginning

: to separate (cotton fiber) from seeds and waste material

ginner noun

gin

3 of 3 noun

: a clear strong alcoholic liquor flavored with juniper berries

Etymology

Noun

Middle English gin "a mechanical device, skill, trick," from early French engin (same meaning), from Latin ingenium "natural ability or desire to do something, inborn ability," from in "in" and -genium, from gignere "to father, beget" — related to engine, genius, ingenious

Noun

an altered form of earlier geneva "gin (liquor)," from obsolete Dutch genever, literally, "juniper"