gig

1 of 9

noun (1)

ˈgig 

plural gigs

: a job usually for a specified time

especially : an entertainer's engagement see also gig economy, gig worker

gig

2 of 9

verb (1)

gigged; gigging

intransitive verb

: to work as a musician

gigged with various bands

—Downbeat

gig

3 of 9

noun (2)

: gigabyte

gig

4 of 9

noun (3)

1

a

: a long light ship's boat

b

: a rowboat designed for speed rather than for work

2

: a light 2-wheeled one-horse carriage

3

: something that whirls or is whirled: such as

a

: a 3-digit selection in a numbers game

b

obsolete : top, whirligig

4

: a person of odd or grotesque appearance

gig

5 of 9

verb (2)

gigged; gigging

intransitive verb

: to travel in a gig

gig

6 of 9

noun (4)

1

: a pronged spear for catching fish

2

: an arrangement of hooks to be drawn through a school of fish in order to hook their bodies

gig

7 of 9

verb (3)

gigged; gigging

transitive verb

1

: to spear with a gig

2

a

chiefly Western US : spur, jab

b

: goad, provoke

intransitive verb

: to fish with a gig

gig

8 of 9

noun (5)

: a military demerit

gig

9 of 9

verb (4)

gigged; gigging

transitive verb

: to give a military gig to

Examples of gig in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

Noun

Firefly Aerospace Jason Kim just nabbed one of the most coveted yet high-pressure C-suite gigs in the space industry. —Michael Sheetz, CNBC, 29 Oct. 2024

Because of that, maybe there was slightly less emotion attached to Saturday’s gig than anticipated. —Chris Willman, Variety, 28 Oct. 2024

Verb

There was a mystique to the gigging musician wandering the big city in search of work, because this work was creative, improvisational, at times transcendent. —Hua Hsu, The New Yorker, 21 Oct. 2024

But a host of subtly brilliant utility features that are easy to organize within the DAW’s expansive architecture puts it over the top as far as utilities for gigging musicians go. —Parker Hall, WIRED, 21 July 2024

Word History

Etymology

Noun (1)

origin unknown

Noun (3)

Middle English -gyge (in whyrlegyge whirligig), of unknown origin

Noun (4)

short for earlier fizgig, fishgig, of unknown origin

Noun (5)

origin unknown

First Known Use

Noun (1)

1926, in the meaning defined above

Verb (1)

1937, in the meaning defined above

Noun (2)

1987, in the meaning defined above

Noun (3)

1570, in the meaning defined at sense 3

Verb (2)

1807, in the meaning defined above

Noun (4)

1722, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Verb (3)

1803, in the meaning defined at transitive sense 1

Noun (5)

circa 1941, in the meaning defined above

Verb (4)

circa 1941, in the meaning defined above

Phrases Containing gig

• gig economy
• gig worker

Kids Definition

gig

1 of 3 noun

ˈgig 

1

: a long light boat

2

: a light two-wheeled one-horse carriage

gig

2 of 3 noun

: gigabyte

gig

3 of 3 noun

: a job for a specified time

especially : an entertainer's job for a specified time