Basic Details
Word: Gambol
Part of Speech: Verb
Meaning: To run and jump about playfully, as lambs or young children do.
Synonyms: frolic, skip, leap, romp
Sounds like: gamble (to risk money on a game or on chance)
How to Spell Gambol
Syllables: gam - bol
Tricky part: It ends in bol, not ble. Gamble, spelt ble, is a different word that sounds the same.
Watch out for: gambal, gambul, gamboll
Memory tip: A lamb gambols after a ball: the ending bol is nearly ball. Gamble, with ble, is about betting money.
Usage Examples
Example 1: Lambs gambol in the green meadows of Kashmir in spring.
Example 2: The puppies gambolled around the courtyard after their bath.
Example 3: Watching the goat kids gambol on the rocks made the hikers laugh.
Fun Fact
Gambol comes from Italian gamba, leg, through French gambade, a leap. The same leg word is behind gambit, an opening move in chess that first meant tripping someone up.
Practise the CREST Way
Spell-o-Spell
Only one of these words is spelt correctly. Choose its meaning:
1. gambol 2. carnivel 3. scandle 4. vandel
a) a shocking event that causes public anger
b) a person who damages property on purpose
c) a public festival with music and processions
d) to run and jump about playfully
Show answer
d) to run and jump about playfully. Carnival, vandal and scandal all end in al; the three spellings with el or le are wrong, and gambol is right.
Word Connection
Choose the synonym of the word gambol as used in the sentence:
As soon as the gate opened, the excited children began to gambol about the school lawn.
a) graze
b) frolic
c) sleep
d) limp
Show answer
b) frolic. To gambol is to play and jump about happily, which is what frolic means.
Mingle-Mangle
Rearrange the jumbled letters in the sentence to form the right word:
Near the stream, two young deer mlogab over the fallen logs.
a) gambol
b) ramble
c) global
d) gamble
Show answer
a) gambol. An o and no e rule out gamble and ramble, and global would need a second l.
Multiple Choice Questions
1. Which animal is most often described as gambolling?
a) a sloth
b) a tortoise
c) a snail
d) a lamb
Show answer
d) a lamb
2. Choose the right word: 'The kittens ____ on the rug while their mother slept.'
a) gambolled
b) gobbled
c) gambled
d) grumbled
Show answer
a) gambolled
