Gag vs. Gage — What's the Difference?
By Tayyaba Rehman — Updated on September 27, 2023
Gag usually refers to a restraint put over someone’s mouth or an instance of choking. Gage is an obsolete term for a pledge or a security, and is also a variant spelling for gauge, a measurement tool or standard.
Difference Between Gag and Gage
Table of Contents
ADVERTISEMENT
Key Differences
Gag predominantly denotes a device designed to prevent speech by obstructing the mouth or is used as a verb describing the act of choking or retching. It is utilized to represent the physical action of obstructing someone’s ability to speak or the reflexive action due to something unwanted in the throat. Gage, on the other hand, is a largely obsolete term used to signify a pledge or a security, reflecting a commitment or an assurance in historic contexts.
Gag is also synonymous with a joke or a humorous anecdote, often used in the context of comedy. It can refer to any form of comedic content, including visual gags, implying something designed to make people laugh. Conversely, Gage, when used in modern times, is typically encountered as a misspelling or alternative spelling of gauge, which denotes a tool or instrument for measuring or testing.
In the context of a reflex, to gag is to experience an involuntary contraction of the throat muscles, typically triggered by the presence of an unwanted or foreign object in the throat. Gage, by its historic meaning, signifies a token or an item representing a challenge or a promise, indicating a formal gesture in archaic traditions and old English law.
While gag can have varied applications, from comedy to restraining devices, its meanings revolve around speech and the human mouth, expressing either obstruction or amusement. Gage, in contrast, stands as a testament to antiquated language, symbolizing formal pledges or, mistakenly, measurement tools.
Comparison Chart
Primary Meaning
A restraint over the mouth or an instance of choking.
An obsolete term for a pledge or a security.
ADVERTISEMENT
Secondary Meaning
A joke or a humorous anecdote.
A variant spelling for gauge, a measurement tool.
Context of Usage
In contexts involving speech, mouth, or comedy.
Historically in formal pledges, or mistakenly in measurement contexts.
Representation
Represents obstruction, reflexive action, or amusement.
Represents commitment, assurance, or measurement.
Modern Usage
Commonly used.
Rarely used, mostly as a misspelling of gauge.
Compare with Definitions
Gag
An involuntary contraction of the throat muscles, triggered by disgust or revulsion.
The horrible smell made her gag.
Gage
An obsolete term meaning a pledge or security.
He left his ring as a gage of his return.
Gag
A joke or an amusing anecdote, especially a verbal one.
The comedian had a great gag about airplanes.
Gage
Used mistakenly in place of gauge, to represent instruments measuring dimensions or quantities.
She checked the gage to monitor the temperature.
Gag
A gag is usually an item or device designed to prevent speech, often as a restraint device to stop the subject from calling for help and keep its wearer silent. This is usually done by blocking the mouth, partially or completely, or attempting to prevent the tongue, lips, or jaw from moving in the normal patterns of speech.
Gage
A variant spelling for gauge, meaning a measurement tool or standard.
He read the pressure on the gage.
Gag
A piece of cloth put in or over a person's mouth to prevent them from speaking
They tied him up and put a gag in his mouth
Gage
Historically, an item representing a challenge or promise.
He threw down his glove as a gage.
Gag
A device for keeping the patient's mouth open during a dental or surgical operation.
Gage
A valued object deposited as a guarantee of good faith.
Gag
A joke or an amusing story, especially one forming part of a comedian's act or in a film
Films that goad audiences into laughing at the most tasteless of gags
Gage
Variant spelling of gauge
Gag
Put a gag on (someone)
She was bound and gagged by robbers
Gage
Another term for greengage
Gag
Choke or retch
He gagged on the wine
Gage
Offer (an object or one's life) as a guarantee of good faith
A guide sent to them by the headman of this place gaged his life as a forfeit if he failed
Gag
Be very eager to have or do (something)
We'll be sitting in front of the TV at five to seven next Saturday evening, gagging for the next instalment
I'm absolutely gagging for a pint
Gage
Variant spelling of gauge
Gag
Tell jokes
They gagged about their sexual problems
Gage
Something deposited or given as security against an obligation; a pledge.
Gag
Something forced into or put over the mouth to prevent speaking or crying out.
Gage
Something, such as a glove, that is offered or thrown down as a pledge or challenge to fight.
Gag
An obstacle to or a censoring of free speech.
Gage
A challenge.
Gag
A device placed in the mouth to keep it open, as in dentistry.
Gage
Any of several varieties of plum, such as the greengage.
Gag
A practical joke
Played a gag on his roommates.
Gage
Variant of gauge.
Gag
A comic effect or remark.
Gage
To pledge as security.
Gag
The act or an instance of gagging or choking.
Gage
To offer as a stake in a bet; wager.
Gag
To prevent from speaking or crying out by using a gag.
Gage
To bind by pledge, or security; to engage.
Gag
To stop or restrain from exercising free speech
Censorship laws aimed at gagging the press.
Gage
(archaic) To wager, to bet.
Gag
To cause to choke, retch, or undergo a regurgitative spasm.
Gage
(obsolete) To give or deposit as a pledge or security; to pawn.
Gag
To keep (the mouth) open by using a dental gag.
Gage
(US) gauge {{gloss}}
Gag
To block off or obstruct (a pipe or valve, for example).
Gage
Something, such as a glove or other pledge, thrown down as a challenge to combat (now usually figurative).
Gag
To experience a regurgitative spasm in the throat, as from revulsion to a food or smell or in reflexive response to an introduced object.
Gage
(obsolete) Something valuable deposited as a guarantee or pledge; security, ransom.
Gag
To make jokes or quips
Your friends are always gagging around.
Gage
(US) gauge {{gloss}}
Gag
A device to restrain speech, such as a rag in the mouth secured with tape or a rubber ball threaded onto a cord or strap.
Gage
A subspecies of plum, Prunus domestica subsp. italica.
Gag
(legal) An order or rule forbidding discussion of a case or subject.
Gage
A pledge or pawn; something laid down or given as a security for the performance of some act by the person depositing it, and forfeited by nonperformance; security.
Nor without gages to the needy lend.
Gag
(figurative) Any suppression of freedom of speech.
Gage
A glove, cap, or the like, cast on the ground as a challenge to combat, and to be taken up by the accepter of the challenge; a challenge; a defiance.
Gag
A joke or other mischievous prank.
Gage
A variety of plum; as, the greengage; also, the blue gage, frost gage, golden gage, etc., having more or less likeness to the greengage. See Greengage.
Gag
(film) a device or trick used to create a practical effect; a gimmick
Gage
To give or deposit as a pledge or security for some act; to wage or wager; to pawn or pledge.
A moiety competentWas gaged by our king.
Gag
A convulsion of the upper digestive tract.
Gage
To bind by pledge, or security; to engage.
Great debtsWherein my time, sometimes too prodigal,Hath left me gaged.
Gag
(archaic) A mouthful that makes one retch or choke.
Gage
Street names for marijuana
Gag
Mycteroperca microlepis, a species of grouper.
Gage
A measuring instrument for measuring and indicating a quantity such as the thickness of wire or the amount of rain etc.
Gag
(intransitive) To experience the vomiting reflex.
He gagged when he saw the open wound.
Gage
Place a bet on;
Which horse are you backing?
I'm betting on the new horse
Gag
(transitive) To cause to heave with nausea.
Gage
An assurance or commitment symbolized by an object in historic contexts.
The knight presented a gage to signify his pledge.
Gag
(transitive) To restrain someone's speech by blocking his or her mouth.
Gag
(transitive) To pry or hold open by means of a gag.
Gag
To restrain someone's speech without using physical means.
When the financial irregularities were discovered, the CEO gagged everyone in the accounting department.
Gag
(ambitransitive) To choke; to retch.
Gag
To deceive (someone); to con.
Gag
To astonish (someone); to be at a loss for words.
Gag
To stop the mouth of, by thrusting sometimes in, so as to hinder speaking; hence, to silence by authority or by violence; not to allow freedom of speech to.
The time was not yet come when eloquence was to be gagged, and reason to be hood winked.
Gag
To pry or hold open by means of a gag.
Mouths gagged to such a wideness.
Gag
To cause to heave with nausea.
Gag
To heave with nausea; to retch.
Gag
Something thrust into the mouth or throat to hinder speaking.
Gag
A mouthful that makes one retch; a choking bit; as, a gag of mutton fat.
Gag
A speech or phrase interpolated offhand by an actor on the stage in his part as written, usually consisting of some seasonable or local allusion.
Gag
A humorous anecdote or remark intended to provoke laughter;
He told a very funny joke
He knows a million gags
Thanks for the laugh
He laughed unpleasantly at hisown jest
Even a schoolboy's jape is supposed to have some ascertainable point
Gag
Restraint put into a person's mouth to prevent speaking or shouting
Gag
Prevent from speaking out;
The press was gagged
Gag
Be too tight; rub or press;
This neckband is choking the cat
Gag
Tie a gag around someone's mouth in order to silence them;
The burglars gagged the home owner and tied him to a chair
Gag
Make jokes or quips;
The students were gagging during dinner
Gag
Struggle for breath; have insufficient oxygen intake;
He swallowed a fishbone and gagged
Gag
Cause to retch or choke
Gag
Make an unsuccessful effort to vomit; strain to vomit
Gag
A piece of cloth put over or in the mouth to prevent speaking or shouting.
The captors used a gag to silence him.
Gag
To suppress free speech or the release of information.
The government tried to gag the press.
Gag
To experience difficulty in swallowing or breathing.
He started to gag on a piece of apple.
Common Curiosities
Is gage commonly used in modern English?
Gage is rarely used in modern English, mostly encountered as a misspelling or alternative spelling of gauge.
Is gagging a reflex action?
Yes, gagging is an involuntary contraction of the throat muscles, typically triggered by an unwanted object in the throat.
What is the meaning of gage?
Gage is an obsolete term for a pledge or a security, and sometimes a variant spelling for gauge, a measurement tool.
Can gag refer to suppressing speech or information?
Yes, to gag can also mean to suppress free speech or the release of information.
What does gage represent historically?
Historically, gage represents a token or item signifying a challenge or a promise, indicating a formal pledge.
Is gage synonymous with gauge?
Gage can be mistakenly used as a variant spelling for gauge, which denotes a tool or instrument for measuring.
Can gage be used to denote measurement tools?
Gage can mistakenly be used to denote measurement tools, usually referring to instruments measuring dimensions or quantities.
What does gag primarily refer to?
Gag primarily refers to a device designed to prevent speech or an act of choking or retching.
Can gag also denote a joke?
Yes, gag can also denote a joke or a humorous anecdote, often used in the context of comedy.
Can the term gag be used in the context of comedy?
Yes, the term gag is frequently used in the context of comedy to refer to a joke or amusing content.
What is a visual gag?
A visual gag is a type of joke or amusing scenario presented without verbal expression, relying on visual elements to convey humor.
Is gag used to describe both physical restraints and reflexive actions?
Yes, gag can describe both physical restraints over the mouth to prevent speaking and involuntary reflexive actions of the throat.
Does gage have a standardized modern usage?
Gage doesn’t have standardized modern usage and is mostly seen as a misspelling of gauge.
Can gag refer to difficulty in swallowing or breathing?
Yes, to gag can also refer to experiencing difficulty in swallowing or breathing due to obstruction in the throat.
Is gage used to symbolize assurance or commitment?
Yes, in historic contexts, gage symbolized assurance or commitment, often represented by an object.
Share Your Discovery
Previous Comparison
Blank vs. Dummy
Next Comparison
Bucks vs. DollarAuthor Spotlight
Written by
Tayyaba RehmanTayyaba Rehman is a distinguished writer, currently serving as a primary contributor to askdifference.com. As a researcher in semantics and etymology, Tayyaba's passion for the complexity of languages and their distinctions has found a perfect home on the platform. Tayyaba delves into the intricacies of language, distinguishing between commonly confused words and phrases, thereby providing clarity for readers worldwide.
