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PlainSpell

gag

/ɡæɡ/noun, verb

gag is spelled G-A-G: 3 letters and one syllable. It appears 4.3 times per million words in written English, the 12,397th most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). As a noun, gag means “A device to restrain speech, such as a rag in the mouth secured with tape or a rubber ball threaded onto a cord or strap” (English Wiktionary, September 2026). The plural of gag is gags.

How many letters and syllables are in gag?

Letters3: G-A-G
Syllables1
In writing4.3 times per million words; the 12,397th most frequent word form
Wrong spellings searchednone measured in search
Rhymes with
Same letters

Sources: letters and syllables from the English Wiktionary's hyphenation or pronunciation; written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media); rhymes and same-letter words are computed by PlainSpell from its own word list.

How common is gag?

Gag appears 4.3 times per million words in written English, the 12,397th most frequent word form in the list.

Source: written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).

How do you pronounce gag?

  • US /ɡæɡ/
  • British /ɡaɡ/
  • Australia /ɡæːɡ/

Gag has one syllable.

Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Recordings: LL-Q1860_(eng)-Vealhurl-gag.wav, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).

What rhymes with gag?

The 12 most written words on PlainSpell end in the same sounds as gag from its last stressed vowel (/æɡ/):

Spelled with the same letters in another order: agg.

Computed by PlainSpell from the pronunciations in the English Wiktionary (dump of September 2, 2026): a rhyme shares every sound from the last stressed vowel to the end; ordered by written frequency (wordfreq 3.1).

Forms of gag

  • gags plural, present, singular, he/she/it
  • gagging participle, present
  • gagged participle, past

Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).

What does gag mean?

The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).

noun

  1. 1

    A device to restrain speech, such as a rag in the mouth secured with tape or a rubber ball threaded onto a cord or strap.

  2. 2

    An order or rule forbidding discussion of a case or subject.

  3. 3

    Any suppression of freedom of speech.

  4. 4

    A joke or mischievous prank.

  5. 5

    a device or trick used to create a practical effect; a gimmick

  6. 6

    A shocking or surprising thing.

  7. 7

    archaicslangUnscripted lines introduced by an actor into his part.

  8. 8

    A convulsion of the upper digestive tract, caused by the gag reflex.

verb

  1. 1

    To experience the vomiting reflex.

    He gagged when he saw the open wound.

  2. 2

    To cause to heave with nausea.

  3. 3

    To restrain someone's speech by blocking his or her mouth.

  4. 4

    To pry or hold open by means of a gag.

  5. 5

    To restrain someone's speech without using physical means.

    When the financial irregularities were discovered, the CEO gagged everyone in the accounting department.

  6. 6

    To choke; to retch.

  7. 7

    obsoleteslangTo deceive (someone); to con.

  8. 8

    To astonish (someone); to leave speechless.

noun

as GAG
  1. 1

    Abbreviation of group-specific antigen.

  2. 2

    Initialism of glycosaminoglycan.

Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).

Gag in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese

LanguageWords
Frenchbâillon (device to restrain speech), gag (joke or prank), haut-le-cœur (convulsion), avoir un haut-le-cœur (to experience the vomiting reflex), bâillonner (To restrain someone's speech)
GermanKnebel (device to restrain speech), Witz, Gag (joke or prank), würgen (to experience the vomiting reflex), knebeln (To restrain someone's speech), Maulkorberlass (order or rule forbidding discussion)
Portuguesemordaça (device to restrain speech), asco (convulsion), ter ânsia, ter ânsia de vômito, engulhar (to experience the vomiting reflex), amordaçar (To restrain someone's speech)
Spanishmordaza (device to restrain speech), basca, asco (convulsion), tener arcadas, basquear (to experience the vomiting reflex), amordazar (To restrain someone's speech)

Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Translations are Wiktionary's, by sense; a linked word has its own PlainSpell page.

Where does gag come from?

The noun is from Early Modern English gagge; the verb is from Middle English gaggen. Possibly imitative or perhaps related to or influenced by Old Norse gag-háls ("with head thrown backwards"; > Norwegian dialectal gaga (“bent backwards”)). The intransitive sense "to retch" is from 1707. The noun is from the 16th century, figurative use (for "repression of speech") from the 1620s. The secondary meaning "(practical) joke" is from 1863, of unclear origin.

Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).

What to look up after gag