From Longman Dictionary of Contemporary Englishganggang1 /ɡæŋ/ ●●● S3 noun [countable] 1 SCCSSY a) a group of young people who spend time together, and who are often involved in crime or drugs and who often fight against other groups two rival street gangsgang member/member of a gang The parents have denied that their son is a gang member. the problem of inner-city gang violence a victim of gang warfare b) a group of young people together in one place, especially young people who might cause troublegang of There were always gangs of kids hanging around the mall.► see thesaurus at group2 SCCa group of criminals who work together Several gangs were operating in the area. Armed gangs have hijacked lorries.gang of a gang of smugglers3 informalFRIEND a group of friends, especially young people The whole gang will be there next weekend.4 GROUP OF PEOPLEa group of workers or prisoners doing physical work together → chain gangCOLLOCATIONSADJECTIVES/NOUN + ganga criminal gangHe had links with drug smuggling and criminal gangs.an armed gang (=with guns)An armed gang stole jewels worth more than five million pounds.a rival gangFighting between rival gangs left dozens of people injured.a street gang (=which spends a lot of time on the streets)He belonged to a notorious street gang which terrorized a Chicago suburb.a teenage/youth gangAt age nine, Pedro joined one of the youth gangs in his neighborhood, just to survive.gang + NOUNa gang member/a member of a gangGang members are thought to be responsible for up to 20% of murders in the city.a gang leaderGang leaders used cellphones to order the attacks.gang violenceResidents say that gang violence is common.gang warfare (=fighting between gangs)Gang warfare is wrecking the neighborhood.gang crime (=crime committed by gangs)The initiative aims to cut gang crime in Los Angeles.gang activityIn most areas, gun crime is linked to gang activity.verbsjoin a gangHe was only eight when he joined the gang.belong to a gangEleven men belonging to a local gang were arrested.
Examples from the Corpus
gang• There are always gangs of kids hanging around the shopping mall.• Police say an armed gang stole nearly $1.9 million in a bank robbery over the weekend.• This is the guy who, in the first half, was moving as gracefully and quickly as an Alabama chain gang.• Jesse Wood, 15, was kicked and slashed by a drunken gang at Richmond, London, last Christmas.• Inner-city kids often join gangs for protection, and for the chance to make money by selling drugs.• It is not just gang members who get into trouble - it's middle-class and upper-class kids as well.• a motorcycle gang• But he was really his own gang.• Police believe it was taken by a professional gang of at least four, stealing to order.• Fighting broke out between two rival gangs.• If it was a member of Connelly's gang it made no sense, yet who else would know about the shipment?• Several gang members have been questioned about the shooting.• She went with Sarah and Jacquie and the gang.• Detectives yesterday carried out house-to-house enquiries in the hope of tracking the gang.• Warning: gangs of pickpockets operate in this area.street gangs• They asked: were there really no girls in youth cultures and street gangs or had sociological accounts made them invisible?• A pattern of trouble quickly came to be associated with the street gangs.ganggang2 verb → gang together → gang up on/against somebody→ See Verb tableExamples from the Corpus
gang• Why did genes choose to gang up and make large bodies for themselves to live in?• First then, why did genes gang up in cells?• Now, however, there are worrying signs that the two biggest firms are ganging up on the rest.• All your recurrent fears of the world ganging up on you came to the surface, and you ran away.• Sometimes friends gang up on you.Origin gang1 Old English “way, journey”; the modern meaning comes from the idea of a group of people "going" together 