gala

noun

ga·​la ˈgā-lə How to pronounce gala (audio) ˈga- How to pronounce gala (audio) ˈgä- How to pronounce gala (audio)
Synonyms of gala
1
: a festive celebration
especially : a public entertainment marking a special occasion
2
Gala : a medium-sized apple with crisp yellowish-white sweet flesh and a red skin or a golden skin with red striping
gala adjective

Synonyms of gala

Relevance
See All Synonyms & Antonyms in Thesaurus

Examples of gala in a Sentence

a grand gala celebrating the town's centennial attended the gala celebrating the reopening of the museum
Recent Examples on the Web
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
The legal fight has turned into a saga that at points became fodder for jokes at the Twain gala. — ABC News, 28 June 2026 The awards were announced at a gala in downtown Los Angeles on June 28. — Los Angeles Times, 29 June 2026 These pieces have occasionally sold for top dollar—one painting went for $425,000 at a gala in Cannes last year—but they have been met with a less warm reception from the press. — Alex Greenberger, ARTnews.com, 30 June 2026 The black-tie gala event will be held at the Molino Stucky in Venice and will include exclusive musical performances and a live auction of contemporary artworks and unique experiences. — Luisa Zargani, Footwear News, 29 June 2026 See All Example Sentences for gala

Word History

Etymology

borrowed from French, borrowed from Spanish, "elegance, pomp, occasion marked by display," borrowed from Middle French gale "festivity, pleasure" — more at gallant entry 1

First Known Use

1777, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Time Traveler
The first known use of gala was in 1777

Rhymes for gala

See All Rhymes for gala

Browse Nearby Words

Gal
gala
galabia
See all Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

“Gala.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/gala. Accessed 7 Jul. 2026.

Copy Citation

Kids Definition

gala

noun
ga·​la ˈgā-lə How to pronounce gala (audio) ˈgal-ə How to pronounce gala (audio)
: a festive celebration
gala adjective

More from Merriam-Webster on gala

Nglish: Translation of gala for Spanish Speakers

Last Updated: - Updated example sentences
Love words? Need even more definitions?

Subscribe to America's largest dictionary and get thousands more definitions and advanced search—ad free!

Popular in Grammar & Usage

See More

Is that lie 'bald-faced' or 'bold-faced'?

'A' or 'an'? What about before 'h'? An Indefinite Article Guide

Why is '-ed' sometimes pronounced at the end of a word?

Commonly Misspelled Words

How to Use Em Dashes (—), En Dashes (–) , and Hyphens (-)
See More

Popular in Wordplay

See More

14 Phobias You Probably Haven't Heard Of

The Longest Long Words List

One-Word Oxymorons: Bittersweet, Spendthrift, and More

Ten Words Ending with a Silent ‘T’

12 Lovely and Unusual Words for the Natural World
See More

Popular

See More

Is that lie 'bald-faced' or 'bold-faced'?

14 Phobias You Probably Haven't Heard Of

The Longest Long Words List
See More

Games & Quizzes

See All
Play Quordle: Guess all four words in a limited number of tries. Each of your guesses must be a real 5-letter word.
Quordle Can you solve 4 words at once?
Play Blossom: Solve today's spelling word game by finding as many words as you can using just 7 letters. Longer words score more points.
Blossom Pick the best words!
Play Missing Letter: a crossword with a twist. Each of the 25 puzzle words start with a different letter of the alphabet. Which letter is missing?
The Missing Letter A daily crossword with a twist
hangman letters and game
Hangman Lightning Round Figure out which word fits in the blanks.
See All