overwordExplorer
ENGLISH · A WORD WITH POSSIBILITIES

gird.

To bind with a flexible rope or cord.

4 characters1 syllables approx.English language

Meaning & usage

verb/ɡɜːd/Received-Pronunciation/ɡɝd/US
  1. To bind with a flexible rope or cord.

    transitive
    The fasces were girt about with twine in bundles large.
  2. To encircle with, or as if with a belt.

    transitive
    a castle girded with a moat
    The lady girt herself with silver chain, from which she hung a golden shear.
  3. To prepare (oneself) for an action.

    reflexive · transitive
  4. (of a vessel towing another) To be pulled on sideways by its towline, putting it at risk of capsizing.

    intransitive
Where this word comes from

From Middle English girden, gerden, gürden, from Old English gyrdan (“to put a belt around, to put a girdle around”), from Proto-Germanic *gurdijaną (“to gird”), from Proto-Indo-European *gʰerdʰ-. Cognate with West Frisian gurdzje, girdzje, Dutch gorden, German gürten, Swedish gjorda, Icelandic gyrða, Albanian ngërthej (“to tie together by weaving, to bind”).

noun/ɡɜːd/Received-Pronunciation/ɡɝd/US
  1. A sarcastic remark.

  2. A stroke with a rod or switch.

  3. A severe spasm; a twinge; a pang.

Where this word comes from

From Middle English girden (“to strike”), from Old English *gyrdan.

verb/ɡɜːd/Received-Pronunciation/ɡɝd/US
  1. To jeer at.

    transitive
  2. To jeer.

    intransitive
Where this word comes from

From Middle English girden (“to strike”), from Old English *gyrdan.

FROM WORD TO NAME

Try it on your idea.

gird has 4 characters. Say it out loud, try it alongside a description of your project, and see whether its meaning fits what you want to create.

gird studiogird workshello, gird

These are naming prompts. Meanings and pronunciation can vary; existing brand and domain uses have not been checked.

Explore the name generator

A word with a source.

Definitions, grammatical labels, IPA, etymology and examples: Wiktionary contributors, extracted by Kaikki / Wiktextract. Adapted under CC BY-SA 4.0. Selected fields and authored examples are shown; third-party quotations and audio are omitted. See contributor history.

Last enriched 2026-09-10. Definitions are in English. Romanizations are shown when supplied by the source; syllable estimates are omitted for unsupported scripts.