gag

gag¹

/gag/, v., gagged, gagging, n.

v.t.

1. to stop up the mouth of (a person) by putting something in it, thus preventing speech, shouts, etc.

2. to restrain by force or authority from freedom of speech; silence.

3. to fasten open the jaws of, as in surgical operations.

4. to cause to retch or choke.

5. Metalworking. to straighten or bend (a bar, rail, etc.) with a gag.

v.i.

6. to retch or choke.

n.

7. something put into a person's mouth to prevent speech, shouting, etc.

8. any forced or arbitrary suppression of freedom of speech.

9. a surgical instrument for holding the jaws open.

10. Metalworking. a shaped block of steel used with a press to straighten or bend a bar, rail, etc.

[1400-50; late ME gaggen to suffocate; perh. imit. of the sound made in choking]

Syn. 2. curb, stifle, suppress.

gag²

/gag/, n., v., gagged, gagging. Informal.

n.

1. a joke, esp. one introduced into a script or an actor's part.

2. any contrived piece of wordplay or horseplay.

v.i.

3. to tell jokes or make amusing remarks.

4. to introduce gags in acting.

5. to play on another's credulity, as by telling false stories.

v.t.

6. to introduce usually comic interpolations into (a script, an actor's part, or the like) (usually fol. by up).

[1770-80; perh. special use of GAG¹; cf. ON gagg yelp]

gag³

/gag/, n., pl. (esp. collectively) gag, (esp. referring to two or more kinds or species) gags.

1. a serranid game fish, Mycteroperca microlepsis, found along the southeastern coast of the U.S.

2. any of several related fishes.

[1880-85, Amer.; orig. uncert.]

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