gavel
/ˈɡa.vəl//ˈɡæ.vəl/
noun
- 1
Rent.
- 2
Usury; interest on money.
- 3
An old Saxon and Welsh form of tenure by which an estate passed, on the holder's death, to all the sons equally.
verb
- 1
To divide or distribute according to the gavel system.
noun
- 1
A wooden mallet, used by a courtroom judge, or by a committee chairman, struck against a sounding block to quieten those present, or by an auctioneer to accept the highest bid at auction.
- 2
(metonymically) The legal system as a whole.
- 3
A mason's setting maul.
verb
- 1
To use a gavel.
“The judge gavelled for order in the courtroom after the defendant burst out with a confession.”
noun
- 1
A small heap of grain, not tied up into a bundle.
noun
- 1
A gable.
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