Most people agree that it’s good to be graced with a giant vocabulary. Whether you’re playing games—like Scrabble or Words with Friends—or giving a speech, you’re going to get further by including the letter G. Want grateful guests to glorify your gallantry? Gratify them with a giveaway—perhaps a glossary gathering only G-words. G is the seventh letter of the English alphabet, but it’s granted a prominent spot in some gorgeous words! So, if you’re looking to gloat about your growing vocabulary, you’d better glean some germane words that start with the letter G.
We’ve created this list of words for you, organized by the number of letters in each word. Many of these words have more than one meaning. For simplicity, we’ve only listed one definition for each word. Keep in mind, this word list doesn’t contain every single English word that starts with G; however, it’s a useful introduction to this very special letter.
Your writing, at its best
Compose bold, clear, mistake-free, writing with Grammarly's AI-powered writing assistant
grandiloquent – Adjective | Expressed in a pompous style
12-Letter Words
galvanometer – Noun | A tool for measuring a small electric current
gamification – Noun | The act of giving something game-like features in order to encourage engagement
geohydrology – Noun | The study of hydrology as it relates to underground water sources and related surface water
gesticulated – Verb | Moved arms and hands while speaking
11-Letter Words
gallinipper – Noun | A biting or stinging insect, especially a large mosquito
gazillionth – Adjective | The ordinal form of a very large, indefinite number
genotypical – Adjective | Pertaining to the genetic makeup of an individual or group
graphologic – Adjective | Pertaining to the study of handwriting
10-Letter Words
gargantuan – Adjective | Exceptionally large
garmenture – Noun | Clothing
genealogic – Adjective | Pertaining to the study of ancestry
generative – Adjective | Having the power of originating or producing
9-Letter Words
gallantry – Noun | An act of courtesy
geosphere – Adjective | The combined lithosphere, hydrosphere, and atmosphere
glamorize – Verb | To romanticize
glitching – Verb | Displaying or sending an invalid electronic signal
8-Letter Words
galactic – Adjective | Pertaining to the galaxy
galavant – Verb | To roam about in pursuit of pleasure
galloway – Noun | A breed of hornless, Scottish cattle
gemstone – Noun | A mineral or petrified material used in jewelry
7-Letter Words
gabbart – Noun | A small barge used for inland navigation, especially in Scotland (also spelled gabbard)
gazelle – Noun | A small African or Asian antelope
gimmick – Noun | A scheme to attract business or attention
giraffe – Noun | A long-necked African ruminant mammal
grimace – Noun | A facial contortion to indicate pain or disgust
6-Letter Words
gabble – Verb | To jabber
gabbro – Noun | A dark igneous rock made up of labradorite and augite
gabion – Noun | A building fortification made from a basket or cage filled with earth or rocks
gadfly – Noun | A fly that bothers domestic animals
gadget – Noun | A small, novel mechanical or electronic device
gaggle – Noun | A flock, especially a flock of geese
galore – Adjective | In large quantities
gambit – Noun | A strategic chess opening
garish – Adjective | Tasteless and flashy
gazebo – Noun | An open, roofed structure, especially one with a pleasant view
5-Letter Words
gaffe – Noun | A social blunder
gamer – Noun | A person who plays games, especially video games, computer games, or role-playing games
gamin – Noun | A young, urchin boy
gaudy – Adjective | Bright, ornate, and tacky
gawky – Adjective | Awkward, uncoordinated
girth – Noun | The circumference of a body
glitz – Noun | Glitter, extravagance
gnome – Noun | A mythical dwarf who guards a treasure
goody – Interjection | An expression of delight
gouge – Verb | To scoop out a cavity with a grooved tool
graze – Verb | To eat small amounts throughout the day
gripe – Verb | To complain
4-Letter Words
gaby – Noun | A foolish person
gala – Noun | A glamorous party
gaol – Noun | A jail
gape – Verb | To gaze at in surprise
gash – Noun | A deep cut
gast – Verb | To scare
geek – Noun | A carnival performer who bites off the heads of live animals
gelt – Noun | Money
gibe – Verb | To taunt with words
gimp – Noun | An ornamental cord used to trim fabric
glum – Adjective | Downtrodden, brooding
glut – Verb | To increase supply in a market in such a way that it outpaces demand
gnat – Noun | Small, biting flies
goad – Verb | To drive an animal with a pointed rod
goon – Noun | A hired thug or enforcer
guff – Noun | Nonsensical, impudent talk
gull – Noun | Long-winged aquatic birds of the subfamily Larinae
gulp – Verb | To ingest in a single swallow
3-Letter Words
gat – Noun | A channel or passage
gip – Verb | To remove the entrails of a fish, especially a herring
gnu – Noun | A wildebeest
gyp – Verb | To cheat
2-Letter Words
go – Verb | To proceed
By looking at this list, you may be able to identify some common prefixes. Words that start with “geo-” often have something to do with the earth. Words beginning with “gen-” involve genes, family, tribe, or race. Understanding these linguistic patterns can help you to intuit what a word means, even when you don’t have a dictionary handy.
Use words that start with the letter G to garner glowing reviews in every genre. Whether you write Georgian poetry, Greek tragedy, or Gothic fiction, G-words may help you to generate great work. After gathering a grand glossary of glorious words, no word finder, word game, or crossword puzzle will make you grimace. From go to glossographical, a glut of G-words is guaranteed to assist in the germination of good ideas.
I’m an award-winning playwright with a penchant for wordplay. After earning a perfect score on the Writing SAT, I worked my way through Brown University by moonlighting as a Kaplan Test Prep tutor. I received a BA with honors in Literary Arts (Playwriting)—which gave me the opportunity to study under Pulitzer Prize-winner Paula Vogel. In my previous roles as new media producer with Rosetta Stone, director of marketing for global ventures with The Juilliard School, and vice president of digital strategy with Up & Coming Media, I helped develop the voice for international brands. From my home office in Maui, Hawaii, I currently work on freelance and ghostwriting projects.