Definitions

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

  • noun A particular way or manner of moving on foot.
  • noun Any of the ways, such as a canter, trot, or walk, by which a horse can move by lifting the feet in different order or rhythm.
  • noun Rate or manner of proceeding.
  • transitive verb To train (a horse) in a particular gait or gaits.

from The Century Dictionary.

  • noun Same as agistage.
  • noun A sheaf of grain tied up.
  • To set up (gaits of grain) to dry. See gait, 2.
  • noun Same as gate, 1.
  • noun Manner of walking or stepping; carriage of the body while walking: same as gate, 3.

from the GNU version of the Collaborative International Dictionary of English.

  • noun A going; a walk; a march; a way.
  • noun Manner of walking or stepping; bearing or carriage while moving.

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

  • noun Manner of walking or stepping; bearing or carriage while moving.
  • noun horses One of the different ways in which a horse can move, either naturally or as a result of training.
  • verb To teach a specific gait to a horse.

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

  • noun a horse's manner of moving
  • noun the rate of moving (especially walking or running)
  • noun a person's manner of walking

Etymologies

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

[Middle English gate, path, gait, from Old Norse gata, path; see ghē- in Indo-European roots.]

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License

gate, from Old Norse gata (road).

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Examples

  • Tim Hilden, PT, ATC, is a senior physical therapist and certified athletic trainer at BCSM, who specializes in gait analysis and orthotics, as well as orthopedic foot issues.

    VeloNews Training Center: Can orthotics help my sore back? 2010

  • His gait is a little off; he's not exactly rock-solid in the hind end.

    Suddenly paralyzed, Rufus doggedly learns to walk again 2009

  • His eyes are hollow, his face drawn, and his gait is like watching a man walk on eggs.

    McCain: ‘I’m the Underdog’ - The Caucus Blog - NYTimes.com 2008

  • Her gait is odd, but she is steadied by the walker and makes quite good time coming up towards me.

    The Same Difference Dave Hingsburger 2007

  • Thus, it seems unproductive to note that TAS's gait is compliant or that it's swinging its arms widely or that it's holding its hands in an unusual position.

    Frame 352, and all that Darren Naish 2006

  • Still, I wonder if the particular gait is actually evidence for the Monkey Suit Hypothesis (or, see the first post, the absence of a suit).

    Frame 352, and all that Darren Naish 2006

  • It seems to me that the typical human gait is irrelevant in discussions of TAS's gait, since if it is a human, the human is likely specifically trying to show a different gait.

    Frame 352, and all that Darren Naish 2006

  • All the momentum and energy in Putin's gait comes from the left side; it is as if the right side is just along for the ride.

    The Accidental Autocrat 2005

  • All the momentum and energy in Putin's gait comes from the left side; it is as if the right side is just along for the ride.

    The Accidental Autocrat 2005

  • Sim was a round-shouldered curiously oafish-looking man, not large but shambling in gait, with a chubby face which was like that of an overgrown baby, and which was capable of good humor.

    Such, Such Were the Joys 1947

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