gavel
/ˈɡæ.vəl/noun, verb
gavel is spelled G-A-V-E-L: 5 letters and 2 syllables. It appears about once in every 2 million words in written English, the 43,663rd most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). As a noun, gavel means “Rent” (English Wiktionary, September 2026). The plural of gavel is gavels.
How many letters and syllables are in gavel?
| Letters | 5: G-A-V-E-L |
|---|---|
| Syllables | 2 (from its American pronunciation) |
| In writing | about once in every 2 million words; the 43,663rd most frequent word form |
| Wrong spellings searched | none measured in search |
| Rhymes with | |
| Same letters |
Sources: letters and syllables from the English Wiktionary's hyphenation or pronunciation and the CMU Pronouncing Dictionary; 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 gavel?
Gavel appears about once in every 2 million words in written English, the 43,663rd 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 gavel?
- UK /ˈɡa.vəl/
- US /ˈɡæ.vəl/
Gavel has 2 syllables (counted from its American pronunciation in the CMU Pronouncing Dictionary).
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Recordings: En-us-gavel.ogg, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).
What rhymes with gavel?
2 words on PlainSpell end in the same sounds as gavel from its last stressed vowel (/ævəl/):
Spelled with the same letters in another order: glave.
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 gavel
- gavels plural, present, singular, he/she/it
- gaveling US, participle, present
- gavelling UK, participle, present
- gaveled US, participle, past
- gavelled UK, participle, past
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
What does gavel mean?
The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).
noun
- 1
Rent.
- 2
obsoleteUsury; interest on money.
- 3
An old Saxon and Welsh form of tenure by which an estate passed, on the holder's death, to all the sons equally; also called gavelkind.
- 4
A wooden mallet, used by a courtroom judge, or by a committee chairman, struck against a sounding block to quieten those present, or by an auctioneer to accept the highest bid at auction.
- 5
USThe beginning or end of legal proceedings.
- 6
USThe legal system as a whole.
- 7
A mason's setting maul.
- 8
A small heap of grain, not tied up into a bundle.
- 9
ScotlandarchaicA gable.
verb
- 1
To divide or distribute according to the gavel system.
- 2
To use a gavel.
- 3
To begin or end legal proceedings
The judge gavelled for order in the courtroom after the defendant burst out with a confession.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Gavel in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese
| Language | Words |
|---|---|
| French | marteau |
| German | Hammer, Richterhammer, Auktionshammer |
| Spanish | mazo, martillo , dar mazazos, dar martillazos |
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 gavel come from?
From Middle English gavel, from Old English gafol, from Proto-West Germanic *gabul, from Proto-Germanic *gebaną (“to give”), equivalent to give + -el.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).