gar|ri|son /gæ r I s ə n/ (garrisons , garrisoning , garrisoned )
1 N‑COUNT [with sing or pl verb] A garrison is a group of soldiers whose task is to guard the town or building where they live. □ …a five-hundred-man French army garrison.
2 N‑COUNT A garrison is the buildings which the soldiers live in. □ The approaches to the garrison have been heavily mined.
3 VERB To garrison a place means to put soldiers there in order to protect it. You can also say that soldiers are garrisoned in a place. □ [V n] British troops still garrisoned the country. □ [be V -ed] No other soldiers were garrisoned there. □ [V -ed] …the large, heavily garrisoned towns.
gar|rotte /gərɒ t/ (garrottes , garrotting , garrotted )
1 VERB If someone is garrotted , they are killed by having something such as a piece of wire or cord pulled tightly round their neck. □ [be V -ed] The two guards had been garrotted. [Also V n]
2 N‑COUNT A garrotte is a piece of wire or cord used to garrotte someone.
gar|ru|lous /gæ rələs/ ADJ If you describe someone as garrulous , you mean that they talk a great deal, especially about unimportant things. □ …a garrulous old woman.
gar|ter /gɑː r tə r / (garters ) N‑COUNT A garter is a piece of elastic worn round the top of a stocking or sock in order to prevent it from slipping down.
ga r|ter belt (garter belts ) N‑COUNT A garter belt is a piece of underwear for women that is used for holding up stockings. [AM ] in BRIT, use suspender belt
gas ◆◆◇ /gæ s/ (gases , gasses , gassing , gassed ) The form gases is the plural of the noun. The form gasses is the third person singular of the verb. 1 N‑UNCOUNT Gas is a substance like air that is neither liquid nor solid and burns easily. It is used as a fuel for cooking and heating. □ Coal is actually cheaper than gas. □ …a contract to develop oil and gas reserves.
2 N‑VAR A gas is any substance that is neither liquid nor solid, for example oxygen or hydrogen. □ Helium is a very light gas. □ …a huge cloud of gas and dust from the volcanic eruption.
3 N‑VAR Gas is a poisonous gas that can be used as a weapon. □ …mustard gas. □ The problem was that the exhaust gases contain many toxins.
4 N‑VAR Gas is a gas used for medical purposes, for example to make patients feel less pain or go to sleep during an operation. [INFORMAL ] □ …an anaesthetic gas used by many dentists.
5 N‑UNCOUNT Gas is the fuel which is used to drive motor vehicles. [AM ] □ …a tank of gas. □ …gas stations. in BRIT, use petrol 6 VERB To gas a person or animal means to kill them by making them breathe poisonous gas. □ [V n] Her husband ran a pipe from her car exhaust to the bedroom in an attempt to gas her.
7 → see also gas chamber , gas mask , greenhouse gas , laughing gas , natural gas , tear gas
8 PHRASE If you step on the gas when you are driving a vehicle, you go faster. [mainly AM , INFORMAL ] in BRIT, use step on it
ga s cham|ber (gas chambers ) N‑COUNT A gas chamber is a room that has been specially built so that it can be filled with poisonous gas in order to kill people or animals.
gas|eous /gæ siəs, ge I ʃəs/ ADJ [usu ADJ n] You use gaseous to describe something which is in the form of a gas, rather than a solid or liquid. □ Freon exists both in liquid and gaseous states.
ga s fire (gas fires ) N‑COUNT A gas fire is a fire that produces heat by burning gas.
ga s guz|zler (gas guzzlers ) also gas-guzzler N‑COUNT If you say that a car is a gas guzzler you mean that it uses a lot of fuel and is not cheap to run. [AM , INFORMAL ]
gash /gæ ʃ/ (gashes , gashing , gashed )
1 N‑COUNT A gash is a long, deep cut in your skin or in the surface of something. □ There was an inch-long gash just above his right eye.
2 VERB If you gash something, you accidentally make a long and deep cut in it. □ [V n] He gashed his leg while felling trees.
gas|ket /gæ sk I t/ (gaskets ) N‑COUNT A gasket is a flat piece of soft material that you put between two joined surfaces in a pipe or engine in order to make sure that gas and oil cannot escape.
gas|light /gæ sla I t/ (gaslights ) also gas light N‑COUNT A gaslight is a lamp that produces light by burning gas. ● N‑UNCOUNT Gaslight is also the light that the lamp produces. □ He would show his collection by gaslight.
gas|man /gæ smæn/ (gasmen ) N‑COUNT The gasman is a man who works for a gas company, repairing gas appliances in people's houses, or checking how much gas they have used. [BRIT , INFORMAL ]
ga s mask (gas masks ) N‑COUNT A gas mask is a device that you wear over your face in order to protect yourself from poisonous gases.
gaso|line /gæ səliːn/ N‑UNCOUNT Gasoline is the same as petrol . [AM ]
gasp /gɑː sp, gæ sp/ (gasps , gasping , gasped )
1 N‑COUNT A gasp is a short quick breath of air that you take in through your mouth, especially when you are surprised, shocked, or in pain. □ An audible gasp went round the court as the jury announced the verdict. □ [+ of ] She gave a small gasp of pain.
2 VERB When you gasp , you take a short quick breath through your mouth, especially when you are surprised, shocked, or in pain. □ [V + for ] She gasped for air and drew in a lungful of water. □ [V ] I heard myself gasp and cry out. [Also V with quote]