Standard Lemma guide

gangplank

noun · 2 senses · updated from the 2026-07-25 local source snapshot

Definitions and examples are grouped by meaning. Pronunciation, history, word forms, translations, descendants, synonyms, antonyms, derived terms, and related words appear whenever the source provides them.

Sound

Pronunciation

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  • CMU ARPABET: G AE1 NG P L AE2 NG K Digits mark lexical stress: 1 primary, 2 secondary, 0 unstressed.

1

noun

Meaning 1

A board used as a temporary footbridge between a ship and a dockside.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Topics: nautical, transport

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

2

noun

Meaning 2

a temporary bridge for getting on and off a vessel at dockside

Definition source: Princeton WordNet 3.0

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: gangboard, gangway

Antonyms: none provided

Broader terms: footbridge, overcrossing, pedestrian bridge

History

Etymology

From gang (“way, path, course of travel”) + plank (“board”).

Across languages

Translations

32 source translations are retained for this English entry.

  • Cebuano: andamyo — board used as a temporary footbridge between a ship and a dockside
  • Chinese Mandarin: 跳板 (tiàobǎn) — board used as a temporary footbridge between a ship and a dockside
  • Chinese Mandarin: 踏板 (tàbǎn) — board used as a temporary footbridge between a ship and a dockside
  • Danish: landgang — board used as a temporary footbridge between a ship and a dockside
  • Dutch: loopplank — board used as a temporary footbridge between a ship and a dockside
  • Finnish: lankonki — board used as a temporary footbridge between a ship and a dockside
  • French: passerelle d'embarquement — board used as a temporary footbridge between a ship and a dockside
  • Georgian: საბიჯელა (sabiǯela) — board used as a temporary footbridge between a ship and a dockside
  • German: Steg — board used as a temporary footbridge between a ship and a dockside
  • German: Landungssteg — board used as a temporary footbridge between a ship and a dockside
  • German: Landungsbrücke — board used as a temporary footbridge between a ship and a dockside
  • Hebrew: גמלה (gamlah) — board used as a temporary footbridge between a ship and a dockside
  • Hebrew: כֶּבֶשׁ (kevesh) — board used as a temporary footbridge between a ship and a dockside
  • Ido: ponto — board used as a temporary footbridge between a ship and a dockside
  • Italian: passerella — board used as a temporary footbridge between a ship and a dockside
  • Macedonian: мо́вче (móvče) — board used as a temporary footbridge between a ship and a dockside
  • Macedonian: по́движен мост (pódvižen most) — board used as a temporary footbridge between a ship and a dockside
  • Norwegian Bokmål: landgang — board used as a temporary footbridge between a ship and a dockside
  • Norwegian Nynorsk: landgang — board used as a temporary footbridge between a ship and a dockside
  • Portuguese: prancha de desembarque — board used as a temporary footbridge between a ship and a dockside
  • Russian: схо́дня (sxódnja) — board used as a temporary footbridge between a ship and a dockside
  • Russian: трап (trap) — board used as a temporary footbridge between a ship and a dockside
  • Serbo-Croatian: brv — board used as a temporary footbridge between a ship and a dockside
  • Serbo-Croatian: brvina — board used as a temporary footbridge between a ship and a dockside
  • Swedish: landgång — board used as a temporary footbridge between a ship and a dockside
  • Tagalog: andamyo — board used as a temporary footbridge between a ship and a dockside
  • Tagalog: tulay-tulayan — board used as a temporary footbridge between a ship and a dockside
  • Volapük: golaboed — board used as a temporary footbridge between a ship and a dockside
  • Volapük: boedaponil — board used as a temporary footbridge between a ship and a dockside
  • Volapük: ponil — board used as a temporary footbridge between a ship and a dockside
  • Welsh: pompren — board used as a temporary footbridge between a ship and a dockside
  • Welsh: pomprennau — board used as a temporary footbridge between a ship and a dockside