gather 572
gath·er¹ /'gæðər/ v 1 [T(IN, UP)] especially lit to collect (flowers, crops, several objects etc), especially by moving from one place to another: Gather your toys up. | The farmers are gathering in the corn. 2 [T] to gain or obtain (information, qualities etc) by a process of gradual increase: He travels about the world gathering facts about little-known diseases. | As we came onto the slope we gathered speed. I hate to see such good equipment gathering dust. (=not being used) 3 [T(from)] to understand from something said or done: I didn't gather much from the confused story he told me. | [+(that)] I gather she's been ill, so she may not be able to come. 4 [I(ROUND)] to come together: Gather round, and I'll tell you a story. | A crowd gathered to see what had happened. 5 [T] to pull (a material or piece of clothing) a) around or close to something: He gathered his cloak around him. b) into small folds, usually by making small stitches with a long thread, then pulling the thread so that the folds are pushed together: a skirt gathered at the waist 6 gather ye rosebuds while ye may quote a phrase from a poem by Robert Herrick, telling young girls to enjoy their beauty while it lasts because it will not last for ever
Compare gather, collect, accumulate and amass. You can gather things which are irregularly distributed, or not clearly separated from one another: to gather flowers/crops/information. Collect is like gather but suggests that the things you are gathering are separate, or can be dealt with one at a time: Collect the books and put them on the shelf. I'm collecting signatures for a petition. It is used especially when you want to keep things together to form a collection: She collects stamps/coins. If you accumulate things you collect more and more of them over a period of time (often without having a strong intention to do this): I've accumulated quite a lot of rare books over the years. Amass is rather formal, and is used especially of money, goods, or power collected gradually, but in very large amounts: George Blake has amassed a fortune through his business dealings.
gather² n a small fold produced by gathering (GATHER)
gath·er·ing /'gæðərɪŋ/ n 1 a meeting: a small social gathering 2 a gather or group of gathers in material
ga·tor /'geɪtər/ n AmE infml an ALLIGATOR
Ga·to·rade /'geɪtəreɪd/ trademark a type of US drink which is supposed to replace chemicals in the body that are lost when you have been exercising or playing sport → compare LUCOZADE
'Gator Bowl, the a college football game held every year in Jacksonville, Florida, in the US
Gatsby → see GREAT GATSBY, THE
GATT /gæt/ abbrev. for General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade; an organization of about 80 countries, whose aim is to make agreements that will encourage international trade and remove rules or restrictions that make trade more difficult. GATT was replaced in 1995 by a new organization with similar aims, called WTO (=the World Trade Organization).
Gat·wick Air·port /ˌgætwɪk 'eəpɔːt||ˈeərˌpɔːrt/ also Gat·wick the second largest of the four international airports serving London. The other three are Heathrow, Stansted, and London City Airport. Gatwick is 25 miles to the south of the city.
gauche /gəʊʃ/ adj awkward, especially in social behaviour; doing and saying the wrong things
gau·cho /'gaʊtʃəʊ/ n pl. -chos a South American COWBOY especially of the plains (PAMPAS) of Argentina
Gau·dí, An·to·ni·o /'gaudi, æn'təʊniəʊ/ (1852–1926) a Spanish ARCHITECT (=someone who designs buildings) who built many unusual, highly decorated buildings in Barcelona, the most famous of which is the CATHEDRAL (=large important church) called El Temple Expiatori de la Sagrada Família, which has never been completed.
gau·dy /'gɔːdi/ adj too bright in colour and/or with too much decoration: a gaudy display of trinkets/of wealth —dily adv —diness n [U]
gauge¹ also gage AmE /geɪdʒ/ n 1 an instrument for measuring size, amount etc, e.g. the width of wire or the amount of rain that has fallen: a rain gauge | the fuel gauge in a car 2 the thickness of wire or certain metal objects, or the width of the barrel of a gun: a 12 gauge shotgun 3 the distance between the RAILS of a railway or between the wheels of a train: standard gauge (4' 8½") → see also BROAD GAUGE, NARROW GAUGE 4 a standard measure of weight, size etc, to which objects can be compared
gauge² v [T] 1 to measure by means of a gauge: A thermometer gauges the temperature. | (fig.) He gauged the height of the tunnel with his eye. 2 to make a judgment about: Can you gauge what her reaction is likely to be?
Gau·guin, Paul /'gəʊgæn||goʊ'gæ̃/ (1848–1903) a French painter who went to live in Tahiti, where he painted brightly coloured scenes which showed the life of the people there
Gaul /gɔːl/ an area of western Europe in Roman times which included France, Belgium, the southern part of the Netherlands, southwest Germany, and part of North Italy
Gaul·list /'gəʊlɪst||'goʊl-/ n 1 someone who supported the French opposition, led by General DE GAULLE, to the VICHY government during World War II 2 someone who supports de Gaulle's political principles and ideas —Gaulist adj
gaunt /gɔːnt/ adj thin, as if ill or hungry: He had gaunt cheeks and hollow eyes after his long illness. | (fig.) The old house stood gaunt and empty, a complete ruin. —ness n [U]
gaunt·let /'gɔːntlət/ n 1 [C] a long GLOVE covering the wrist, worn to protect the hand in certain sports or industrial processes 2 [C] a GLOVE covered in metal, used as armour by soldiers in former times 3 [the] an invitation to fight, especially when two people's beliefs are opposed (especially in the phrases throw down/pick up the gauntlet) 4 run the gauntlet (of) to suffer or experience (attack, blame, danger etc): He ran the gauntlet of newspaper attacks
gauze /gɔːz/ n [U] 1 fine thin net-like material, used especially as a curtain or in medicine to cover wounds: cotton gauze 2 AmE for BANDAGE —gauzy adj
gave /geɪv/ past tense of GIVE
gav·el /'gævəl/ n a small hammer used by a CHAIRPERSON, a US judge, or an AUCTIONEER selling things in public, for striking a table in order to get attention
ga·votte /gə'vɒt||gə'vɑːt/ n (a piece of music for) a fast happy dance from France, danced especially in former times
Gawain and the Green Knight, Sir → see SIR GAWAIN AND THE GREEN KNIGHT
gawd /gɔːd/ interjection used to represent the word 'god' when it is said in this way as an expression of surprise, fear etc
gawk /gɔːk/ v [I(at)] to look at something in a foolish way: gawp: Don't just stand there gawking! —er n
gaw·ky /'gɔːki/ adj (of a person) awkward in movement especially because of long thin limbs —kiness n [U]
gawp /gɔːp/ v [I(at)] BrE to look at something in a foolish way especially with the mouth open: The little boys gawped at the princess as she stepped out of the taxi. → compare GAPE, GOGGLE
gay¹ /geɪ/ adj 1 infml for HOMOSEXUAL: gay rights 2 bright or attractive, so that one feels happy to see it, hear it etc: gay colours 3 cheerful; happy; full of fun → see also GAILY
gay² n infml a HOMOSEXUAL person, especially a man
CULTURAL NOTE The word gay is used far more often than the word HOMOSEXUAL which seems very formal. Gay is the word most gay people use to describe themselves, and it is not offensive. The noun gay is often used only to mean a gay man, and LESBIAN is used to mean a gay woman.
gay com'munity, the n those members of the population who are gay, especially those who are open about it, and are united by shared beliefs and views about political questions, rights, or other subjects which particularly concern them
Gaye, Marvin /geɪ/ (1939–84) a US musician who wrote and performed SOUL MUSIC with the MOTOWN record company. His many popular and successful songs include I Heard Through the Grapevine. He was shot and killed by his father during an argument.
gay·ness /'geɪnəs/ n [U] the quality of being gay (especially of being HOMOSEXUAL) → compare GAIETY
gay 'pride n [U] a political and social movement that