1
as in teams
a group of people working together on a task
a gang of neighborhood residents spent the weekend cleaning up the park
Synonyms & Similar Words
Relevance
2
as in cliques
a group of people sharing a common interest and relating together socially
the whole gang went out for pizza the school's computer hackers had their own little gang
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
3
as in Mafias
a group involved in secret or criminal activities
politicians promising to stop the growth of inner-city gangs
Synonyms & Similar Words
Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of gangs
Richard Ramos, CBS News, 16 Mar. 2026
The mining gangs are often armed and violent in protecting their territory and are controlled by criminal syndicates, authorities say.
—ABC News, 16 Mar. 2026
Conspirators also spent months obtaining weapons and body armor and attempting to build relationships with Haitian gangs, officials said.
—David Fischer, Sun Sentinel, 10 Mar. 2026
At age 14, Arias was caught in the crossfire of a shootout between rival gangs, paralyzing him from the waist down.
—Kayla Hayempour, NBC news, 8 Mar. 2026
American service members, the official told the Times, have been deployed to support the Ecuadorian military with the operation, which is reportedly targeting drug facilities led by violent gangs.
—Chantelle Lee, Time, 6 Mar. 2026
The North African nation today is in a power vacuum and roiled by conflicts between rival armed gangs, some with ties to international terrorism.
—Nolan Finley, Twin Cities, 6 Mar. 2026
The report also found sounded the alarm on how children trafficked by gangs are often seen not as victims but as perpetrators by law enforcement.
—Jacqueline Charles, Miami Herald, 4 Mar. 2026
At the time, police in Oakland identified him as a member of the Swerve Team, one of several notorious gangs to come out of North Richmond.
—Nate Gartrell, Mercury News, 28 Feb. 2026
Noun
The Placer County Sheriff's Office said some members of the network were allegedly affiliated with a Mexican drug trafficking organization as well as Sacramento-area drug and firearms trafficking gangs.
—Richard Ramos, CBS News, 16 Mar. 2026
The mining gangs are often armed and violent in protecting their territory and are controlled by criminal syndicates, authorities say.
—ABC News, 16 Mar. 2026
Conspirators also spent months obtaining weapons and body armor and attempting to build relationships with Haitian gangs, officials said.
—David Fischer, Sun Sentinel, 10 Mar. 2026
At age 14, Arias was caught in the crossfire of a shootout between rival gangs, paralyzing him from the waist down.
—Kayla Hayempour, NBC news, 8 Mar. 2026
American service members, the official told the Times, have been deployed to support the Ecuadorian military with the operation, which is reportedly targeting drug facilities led by violent gangs.
—Chantelle Lee, Time, 6 Mar. 2026
The North African nation today is in a power vacuum and roiled by conflicts between rival armed gangs, some with ties to international terrorism.
—Nolan Finley, Twin Cities, 6 Mar. 2026
The report also found sounded the alarm on how children trafficked by gangs are often seen not as victims but as perpetrators by law enforcement.
—Jacqueline Charles, Miami Herald, 4 Mar. 2026
At the time, police in Oakland identified him as a member of the Swerve Team, one of several notorious gangs to come out of North Richmond.
—Nate Gartrell, Mercury News, 28 Feb. 2026
Recent Examples of Synonyms for gangs
Noun
-
The Tigers' loss leaves no Philadelphia-area teams in either tournament after teams from Lehigh, Villanova and the University of Pennsylvania earned spots, with none advancing past the first round.—
CBS News,
CBS News,
22 Mar. 2026
-
The Gators also happen to be one of the most potent high-speed teams in the country, with an adjusted tempo in the top 40 nationally, per Bark Torvik.—
Noah White,
Miami Herald,
22 Mar. 2026
Noun
-
Their parties became notorious even in my own cliques; my parents knew to expect at least a few dozen teenagers crashing their party, sucking down all the noodles, and sneaking beers in the canyon down below.—
Natasha Pickowicz,
Vogue,
20 Feb. 2026
-
This graph had no cliques — clusters of nodes that are all connected to one another.—
Leila Sloman,
Quanta Magazine,
28 Jan. 2026
Noun
-
Stars spend small fortunes and deploy large armies of stylists to put their best faces forward at the annual party — the photos shot there are quickly sent out and viewed by billions of fans across the world.—
Benjamin Svetkey,
HollywoodReporter,
18 Mar. 2026
-
As the pro-Trump armies that thrive on Elon Musk’s X have likewise proved again and again, propaganda can now be crowdsourced just as easily as air-strike footage.—
Kyle Chayka,
New Yorker,
11 Mar. 2026
Noun
-
Nine San Diego County communities reported record high temperatures Wednesday as the region’s long heat wave continued and seasonal weather won’t broadly return until early next week, the National Weather Service says.—
Gary Robbins,
San Diego Union-Tribune,
19 Mar. 2026
-
Official samba schools began forming in the 1930s, bringing the (previously criminalised) dance into the mainstream and celebrating an art form produced by Rio’s favela communities (Afro-Brazilian heritage is still at the heart).—
Laura French,
TheWeek,
18 Mar. 2026
Noun
-
The sequel to Dhurandhar, which was the highest-grossing Bollywood film of all time in North America at $20 million last year, stars Ranveer Singh as an undercover Indian intelligence agent working to infiltrate Karachi’s criminal syndicates and Pakistani politics.—
Jill Goldsmith,
Deadline,
20 Mar. 2026
-
The mining gangs are often armed and violent in protecting their territory and are controlled by criminal syndicates, authorities say.—
ABC News,
ABC News,
16 Mar. 2026
Verb
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These are in addition to private members clubs The Wilde and Cipriani, among other highlights.—
Luisa Zargani,
Footwear News,
16 Jan. 2026
-
Shane Stant clubs Kerrigan on the knee and flees the scene.—
Assistant Sports Editor,
Los Angeles Times,
6 Jan. 2026
Noun
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Emergency crews continued to search for survivors as authorities worked to verify the condition of those still unaccounted for.—
Neetika Walter,
Interesting Engineering,
24 Mar. 2026
-
Emergency crews, including an advanced life support ambulance and two paramedic firefighters, responded to the scene and began treatment.—
Richard Ramos,
CBS News,
24 Mar. 2026
Noun
-
As spring break travel winds down, airports across the country are still dealing with heavy crowds and long security lines, amid the partial government shutdown.—
Marissa Armas,
CBS News,
23 Mar. 2026
-
Advantaged by a much higher rate of sellout crowds than the norm on the West Coast, San Diego State’s men’s basketball program nonetheless is facing stiff economic challenges, as does the school’s football program and, above all, the athletic department as a whole.—
Tom Krasovic,
San Diego Union-Tribune,
22 Mar. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Gangs.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/gangs. Accessed 24 Mar. 2026.
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