Meaning & use
gale
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Meanings
nouncountable
An extremely strong wind, especially one blowing over the sea.
Grammar: Countable: you can say a gale or gales.
Patterns
- a gale blows
- gale-force winds
The gale tore the sails to shreds.
A sudden gale forced the ferry to stay in port.
Gales are common around the coast in winter.
nouncountable
A noisy outburst of laughter or sound.
Grammar: Usually singular and used in the phrase gales of laughter.
Patterns
- gales of laughter
The joke was met with gales of laughter.
A gale of applause swept through the hall.
Word forms
| plural | gales |
|---|
Common combinations
- gale-force
- Gale-force winds battered the coast.
- a gale of laughter
- There was a gale of laughter from the back row.
- blow a gale
- It was blowing a gale outside.
- strong gale
- The forecast warned of strong gales overnight.
Synonyms and how they differ
- storm
- Stronger and often includes rain or thunder; a gale is mainly about wind strength.
- tempest
- Literary and more dramatic; use gale for everyday weather reports.
- squall
- A sudden, brief burst of wind; a gale lasts longer.
Opposites
Word family
- gale-force adjective
- Describing wind of gale strength.
Commonly confused: gale or gail? gale or gall?
gale vs gail
A personal name; the weather word is spelled gale.
gale vs gall
Means boldness or bitterness; not related to wind.
Practice
The sailors were warned that a ______ was approaching.
Choose one answer.
A gale is a very strong wind, which matches the danger to sailors. A breeze is gentle, drizzle is light rain, and fog is mist, none of which implies strong wind.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “gale”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.