gallon

noun

gal·​lon ˈga-lən 

: a unit of liquid capacity equal to 231 cubic inches or four quarts see Weights and Measures Table

Examples of gallon in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

Nurseries have good supplies of perennials growing in quart and gallon containers in spring, and to a lesser degree, in summer and fall. —Neil Sperry, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 21 Feb. 2025

Each transit requires a staggering 50 million gallons of water from Lake Gatún, which not only feeds the canal but also provides drinking water for more than 50% of Panama’s growing population. —Laura Paddison, CNN, 21 Feb. 2025

The 60 million gallons of PFAS-laden leachate produced at Seneca Meadows annually is trucked around the state, entering the Mohawk and Hudson rivers. —Yvonne Taylor, New York Daily News, 21 Feb. 2025

As of Tuesday morning, crews spread 1.8 million gallons of brine on hundreds of miles of interstates, highways and secondary roads, Stein said. —Joe Marusak and, Charlotte Observer, 20 Feb. 2025

Word History

Etymology

Middle English galun, galoun, galon, a liquid measure, borrowed from Anglo-French galun, galon, jalon, from Old French jal-, base of jaloie "container for liquids, bucket" (going back to Vulgar Latin *gallēta, of uncertain origin) + -on, diminutive or particularizing suffix, going back to Latin -ō, -ōn-, suffix of persons with a prominent feature

Note: Presumed *gallēta (attested as Medieval Latin galeta "wine vessel, liquid measure" in 11th-century texts) has been linked to several classical Greek words for containers, as kálathos "kind of basket, wine cooler," kēlástra "milk pail" (so glossed by Hesychius), though none of these fit formally; on the other hand, kēlḗtēs, kalḗtēs "sufferer from a hernia" (from kḗlē, kálē "tumor, hernia"; see -cele) fits formally but requires a contextual and semantic leap ("one swollen or ruptured" > "container"?).

First Known Use

13th century, in the meaning defined above

Phrases Containing gallon

• ten-gallon hat

Rhymes for gallon

• alan
• ballon
• talon
• concanavalin
• enkephalin
• trifluralin

Kids Definition

gallon

noun

gal·​lon ˈgal-ən 

: a unit of liquid capacity equal to 231 cubic inches or four quarts see measure

Medical Definition

gallon

noun

gal·​lon ˈgal-ən 

1

: a United States unit of liquid capacity equal to four quarts or 231 cubic inches or 3.785 liters

2

: a British unit of liquid and dry capacity equal to four quarts or 277.42 cubic inches or 4.544 liters

called also imperial gallon