gag

gag  (gg)

n.

1. Something forced into or put over the mouth to prevent speaking or crying out.

2. An obstacle to or a censoring of free speech.

3. A device placed in the mouth to keep it open, as in dentistry.

4.

a. A practical joke.

b. A comic effect or remark. See Synonyms at joke.

5. The act or an instance of gagging or choking.

v. gagged, gag·ging, gags

v.tr.

1. To prevent from speaking or crying out by using a gag.

2. To stop or restrain from exercising free speech: censorship laws aimed at gagging the press.

3. To cause to choke, retch, or undergo a regurgitative spasm.

4. To keep (the mouth) open by using a gag.

5. To block off or obstruct (a pipe or valve, for example).

v.intr.

1.

a. To experience a regurgitative spasm in the throat, as from revulsion to a food or smell or in reflexive response to an introduced object.

b. To retch or choke.

2. To make jokes or quips.

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[From Middle English gaggen, to suffocate, perhaps of imitative origin.]

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gag ¹

Verb

[gagging, gagged]

1. to choke as if about to vomit or as if struggling for breath

2. to stop up (a person's mouth), usually with a piece of cloth, to prevent them from speaking or crying out

3. to deprive of free speech

Noun

1. something, usually a piece of cloth, stuffed into or tied across the mouth

2. any restraint on free speech

3. a device for keeping the jaws apart: a dentist's gag [Middle English gaggen]

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gag ² Informal

Noun

a joke, usually one told by a professional comedian

Verb

[gagging, gagged]

to tell jokes [origin unknown]

Thesaurus

Noun	1.	gag - a humorous anecdote or remark intended to provoke laughter; "he told a very funny joke"; "he knows a million gags"; "thanks for the laugh"; "he laughed unpleasantly at his own jest"; "even a schoolboy's jape is supposed to have some ascertainable point" jape, jest, joke, laugh humor, wit, witticism, wittiness, humour - a message whose ingenuity or verbal skill or incongruity has the power to evoke laughter gag line, punch line, tag line, laugh line - the point of a joke or humorous story howler, sidesplitter, thigh-slapper, wow, belly laugh, riot, scream - a joke that seems extremely funny blue joke, blue story, dirty joke, dirty story - an indelicate joke ethnic joke - a joke at the expense of some ethnic group funny, funny remark, funny story, good story - an account of an amusing incident (usually with a punch line); "she told a funny story"; "she made a funny" in-joke - a joke that is appreciated only by members of some particular group of people one-liner - a one-line joke shaggy dog story - a long rambling joke whose humor derives from its pointlessness sick joke - a joke in bad taste sight gag, visual joke - a joke whose effect is achieved by visual means rather than by speech (as in a movie)
	2.	gag - restraint put into a person's mouth to prevent speaking or shouting muzzle constraint, restraint - a device that retards something's motion; "the car did not have proper restraints fitted"
Verb	1.	gag - prevent from speaking out; "The press was gagged" muzzle silence, still, hush, hush up, quieten, shut up - cause to be quiet or not talk; "Please silence the children in the church!"
	2.	gag - be too tight; rub or press; "This neckband is choking the cat" choke, fret constrict, compress, contract, compact, press, squeeze - squeeze or press together; "she compressed her lips"; "the spasm contracted the muscle"
	3.	gag - tie a gag around someone's mouth in order to silence them; "The burglars gagged the home owner and tied him to a chair" muzzle tie, bind - fasten or secure with a rope, string, or cord; "They tied their victim to the chair"
	4.	gag - make jokes or quips; "The students were gagging during dinner" quip jest, joke - tell a joke; speak humorously; "He often jokes even when he appears serious"
	5.	gag - struggle for breath; have insufficient oxygen intake; "he swallowed a fishbone and gagged" choke, strangle, suffocate suffer, hurt - feel pain or be in pain
	6.	gag - cause to retch or choke choke sicken - make sick or ill; "This kind of food sickens me"
	7.	gag - make an unsuccessful effort to vomit; strain to vomit retch, heave

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gag ¹

noun 1. muzzle, tie, restraint

verb 2. suppress, silence, subdue, muffle, curb, stifle, muzzle, quieten

verb 3. retch, choke, heave

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gag ²

noun (Informal) joke, crack (slang) funny (informal) quip, pun, jest, wisecrack (informal) sally, witticism

Translations

gag [gæg] n (on mouth) → mordaza (= joke); chiste m

vt [+ prisoner etc] → amordazar

vi (= choke) → tener arcadas

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gag [gæg] n [on mouth] → bâillon m (= joke); gag m

vt [+ prisoner etc] → bâillonner

vi (= choke) → étouffer

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gag [gæg] n → Knebel m;

(joke) → Gag m

vt → knebeln

vi → würgen

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gag [gæg] n → bavaglio (= joke); facezia, scherzo

vt [+ prisoner etc] → imbavagliare

vi (= choke) → soffocare