Meaning & use
gig
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Meanings
nouncountableinformal
A live show by a musician, band, or comedian, usually at a club, bar, or small venue.
Grammar: Has a plural: they played three gigs last week.
Patterns
- play a gig
- a gig at somewhere
Our band has a gig at the pub on Friday night.
I saw their first London gig when only forty people turned up.
She earns extra money by playing wedding gigs on weekends.
nouncountableinformal
A job, often temporary or freelance, especially one paid per task rather than a regular salary.
Grammar: Usually describes short-term work: a gig in marketing.
Patterns
- land a gig
- a gig as something
He picked up a freelance gig designing logos for a bakery.
After university she took a gig as a camp counselor for the summer.
Delivering food is just a side gig while I finish my degree.
verbintransitiveinformal
To perform at live music or comedy events, or to work in short paid jobs.
Grammar: No object: they gig every weekend.
Patterns
- gig around somewhere
The trio gigs around the coast every summer.
After retiring from teaching he started gigging with a jazz quartet.
We gigged for years before anyone offered us a record deal.
Word forms
| plural | gigs |
|---|---|
| third person singular | gigs |
| past tense | gigged |
| -ing form | gigging |
Common combinations
- play a gig
- They will play a gig in the park on Sunday.
- land a gig
- She finally landed a gig writing for a travel magazine.
- side gig
- His side gig walking dogs pays for his rent.
- live gig
- Nothing beats a live gig in a small, sweaty room.
- gig economy
- Many drivers in the gig economy have no paid holidays.
Synonyms and how they differ
- concert
- A concert sounds more formal and usually suggests a larger venue or a planned program, while a gig is casual and often small.
- engagement
- Engagement is the formal word for a booked performance, and it sounds stiff beside the relaxed gig.
- job
- Job is the neutral general word, whereas gig implies the work is short-term or irregular.
- show
- Show is broader and covers theater and television, while gig is mainly for music and comedy.
Opposites
Word family
- gigging adjective
- regularly performing live, as in a gigging musician
- gig economy noun
- a labor market based on short-term freelance work
- gigster noun
- informal word for someone who takes gigs
Commonly confused: gig or gig vs. jig?
gig vs gig vs. jig
A jig is a lively folk dance or its tune; a gig is a performance or short-term job.
Practice
After the layoffs, Maria survived on a few freelance ___ doing translation work.
Choose one answer.
Gigs are short-term freelance jobs. Grants are funding awards and guilds are trade associations, so neither describes paid translation tasks.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “gig”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.