Meaning & use
a gander
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Meanings
nouncountable
An adult male goose.
Grammar: Countable: one gander, two ganders. The female is called a goose, and the young are goslings.
Patterns
- a gander
- the gander
A gander stood by the pond, honking loudly.
The farmer kept one gander and several geese.
The gander chased the dog away from the nest.
nounsingularinformal
A quick look at something (used in the phrase 'take a gander').
Grammar: Used in the fixed phrase 'take a gander at something'. It is not used with 'a' in other structures.
Patterns
- take a gander at something
Take a gander at this photo — do you recognize anyone?
He took a gander at the menu before ordering.
Come and take a gander at the new car.
Word forms
| plural | ganders |
|---|
Common combinations
- take a gander
- Take a gander at the view from up here.
- a gander at something
- She had a quick gander at the report.
- gander and goose
- The gander and goose stayed together all year.
Synonyms and how they differ
Word family
- goose noun
- The female or general name for this bird.
- gosling noun
- A young goose.
Commonly confused: a gander or gender?
a gander vs gender
Gender means the state of being male or female; a gander is a male goose. They sound similar but are unrelated.
Practice
The farmer kept a male goose, so he had a ___.
Choose one answer.
A male goose is called a gander. 'Gender' is a different word about male/female identity, 'goose' usually refers to the female or the species generally, and a 'gosling' is a young goose.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “a gander”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.