geegaw

1 of 2

noun (1)

gee·​gaw ˈjē-(ˌ)gȯ How to pronounce geegaw (audio)
ˈgē-

less common variant of gewgaw

: a showy trifle : bauble, trinket

gewgaw

2 of 2

noun (2)

gew·​gaw ˈg(y)ü-(ˌ)gȯ How to pronounce gewgaw (audio)
variants or less commonly geegaw
: a showy trifle : bauble, trinket

Examples of geegaw in a Sentence

Noun (2) had a shelf devoted just to gewgaws featuring his favorite team's mascot
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.
Noun
The Babylon Bee posted a satirical video suggesting that if a female president was mercurial — launching foreign wars, trade wars and petty feuds — and focusing on gewgaws and shoes, she’d be endlessly belittled. Maureen Dowd, Mercury News, 23 June 2026 Loaded to the gills with all-wheel drive, digital gewgaws and two-tone leather interior, my racy coupe stickered for $62,000 — a healthy $20,000 cheaper than a comparable BMW M4 coupe. Tribune News Service, cleveland, 28 Dec. 2019 Giveaways are a universal phenomenon, but Silicon Valley has made free gewgaws and gadgets an integral part of its culture. Owen Thomas, SFChronicle.com, 24 July 2019 The nihilistic gewgaw, vacuous and vulgar, instead embodies the mythos that can be manufactured in a crude market-culture that primarily values art as a luxury asset. Los Angeles Times, 23 July 2019 Bookstores should be designed to bring us closer together, not modeled after an open prairie dotted with books and assorted gewgaws — puzzles, Lego kits, Polaroid cameras. John Warner, chicagotribune.com, 6 June 2018 Gary Oldman, Frances McDormand, Sam Rockwell and Allison Janney have all won Golden Globes, Screen Actors Guild Awards and countless other prizes and gewgaws in the weeks leading up to the Oscars. Glenn Whipp, latimes.com, 20 Feb. 2018

Word History

Etymology

Noun (2)

origin unknown

First Known Use

Noun (2)

circa 1529, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler
The first known use of geegaw was circa 1529

Browse Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

“Geegaw.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/geegaw. Accessed 5 Jul. 2026.

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