Meaning & use

gill

noun·Academic

The organ on the side of a fish or other water animal that lets it breathe by taking oxygen from water.

See it in a sentence

The gills on either side of the fish's head moved steadily as it swam.

Tadpoles breathe through gills before they develop lungs as frogs.

A note on using this word

Gill is also a small unit of liquid measure equal to a quarter of a pint, mostly used in older recipes.

Words with a similar meaning

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Another way to use it

2. noun

A small unit of liquid volume equal to a quarter of a pint.

The old recipe called for a gill of cream to thicken the sauce.

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