gallivant

Valid in Scrabble

Scrabble points
13
Words With Friends
18
Letters
9
Pronunciation
/ˈɡæl.ɪ.vænt/(UK)
See all 3 pronunciations
/ˈɡæl.ɪ.vænt/(UK) · /ˈɡæl.ɪ.vænt/(US) · /ˌɡæl.əˈvænt/(US)

Definition of gallivant

2 senses · 1 part of speech · etymology included

verb

  1. (intransitive)To roam about for pleasure without any definite plan.
    “Bertram, it is true, when he heard of the plan, rebelled, and asserted that what Billy needed was a rest, an entire rest from care and labor. In fact, what he wanted her to do, he said, was to gallivant – to gallivant all day long.”
    “Rather than sit and gawk at my nonadoring mother and sister, I gallivanted outdoors until it was time to hit the sack.”
    “The episode also opens with an inspired bit of business for Homer, who blithely refuses to acquiesce to an elderly neighbor’s utterly reasonable request that he help make the process of selling her house easier by wearing pants when he gallivants about in front of windows, throw out his impressive collection of rotting Jack-O-Lanterns from previous Halloweens and take out his garbage, as it’s attracting wildlife (cue moose and Northern Exposure theme song).”
    “When she wasn't gallivanting about the globe, gathering interesting tidbits for her travel blog, she adored holing up for days at a time with a few pints of Häagen-Dazs, leaving only to go for a dip in the rooftop pool or for a workout in the building's fitness club.”
See all 2 definitions

verb

  1. (intransitive)To roam about for pleasure without any definite plan.
    “Bertram, it is true, when he heard of the plan, rebelled, and asserted that what Billy needed was a rest, an entire rest from care and labor. In fact, what he wanted her to do, he said, was to gallivant – to gallivant all day long.”
    “Rather than sit and gawk at my nonadoring mother and sister, I gallivanted outdoors until it was time to hit the sack.”
    “The episode also opens with an inspired bit of business for Homer, who blithely refuses to acquiesce to an elderly neighbor’s utterly reasonable request that he help make the process of selling her house easier by wearing pants when he gallivants about in front of windows, throw out his impressive collection of rotting Jack-O-Lanterns from previous Halloweens and take out his garbage, as it’s attracting wildlife (cue moose and Northern Exposure theme song).”
    “When she wasn't gallivanting about the globe, gathering interesting tidbits for her travel blog, she adored holing up for days at a time with a few pints of Häagen-Dazs, leaving only to go for a dip in the rooftop pool or for a workout in the building's fitness club.”
  2. (intransitive, obsolete)To flirt, to romance.
    “'That you never go gallivanting with Chloe again. You both "don't mean anything", but suppose you did happen to get the girl discharged with a very dubious character? Should you see any alternative to behaving either as a fool or a knave to put it right?'”

Definitions from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA.

Etymology

1809, from gallant (“wooing women”), originally in sense “to flirt”, broadened to mean “roaming without plan”.

Words you can make from gallivant

137 playable · top: GALIVANT (12 pts)

Best play galivant 12 points

7-letter words

5 words

6-letter words

5 words

5-letter words

29 words

4-letter words

46 words

3-letter words

37 words

2-letter words

14 words

Hooks

1 extension · 1 back

A single letter you can add to gallivant to make another valid word.

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