Definitions

from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition.

  • adjective Extremely enthusiastic and dedicated.

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.

  • adjective informal, derogatory Very enthusiastic or energetic.

from WordNet 3.0 Copyright 2006 by Princeton University. All rights reserved.

  • adjective very enthusiastic and dedicated

Etymologies

from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 4th Edition

[Earlier Gung Ho, motto of certain US Marine forces in Asia during World War II, from Mandarin gōnghé (short for gōngyè hézuòshè, Chinese Industrial Cooperative Society) : gōng, work (from Middle Chinese kəwŋ) + , to be joined together, combine (from Middle Chinese xɦap).]

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License

From a World War II catachresis of Mandarin gōnghé ( gōng, work + hé, together), itself an acronym for gōngyè hézuòshè (工業合作社, 工业合作社 Chinese Industrial Cooperative Society).

Support

Help support Wordnik (and make this page ad-free) by adopting the word gung ho.

Examples

    Sorry, no example sentences found.

Comments

Log in or sign up to get involved in the conversation. It's quick and easy.