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There’s no reason to treat the word gauntlet with kid gloves, so let’s go straight to the punch: gauntlet (which comes from the Middle French word gantelet, the diminutive of gant, meaning “glove”) first referred to the reinforced glove of a suit of armor, but today it’s mostly encountered in figurative phrases, such as “throw down the gauntlet” and “pick up the gauntlet,” that arose from the conventions of medieval combat. To challenge someone to combat, a knight would throw his glove at another knight’s feet. The second knight would pick the glove up if he intended to accept the challenge, in which case a jousting match might ensue. Accordingly, to throw down the gauntlet is to issue an open challenge, while to pick up the gauntlet is to accept one. (The gauntlet that means “severe trial,” or “ordeal,” often used in the phrase “run the gauntlet,” is an alteration of gantelope, a word that originates from Swedish gata, meaning “lane” or “way.”)
Examples of gauntlet in a Sentence
Rachel Looker, USA TODAY, 21 Feb. 2024
Beginning the season with a divisional gauntlet, there’s no shortage of interesting story lines to follow on the Giants’ schedule this season.
—Evan Webeck, The Mercury News, 25 Mar. 2024
After a media gauntlet with local and national interviews, Gottlieb said her coaches would jump straight into scouting the Islanders.
—Thuc Nhi Nguyen, Los Angeles Times, 18 Mar. 2024
That’s definitely part of it, but limiting the challenges of ASD to some double-black-diamond social gauntlet ignores larger experiences of autism.
—Aj Willingham, CNN, 4 Mar. 2024
After running the week-after-week gauntlet of ranked opponents and playing in one of the consistently toughest tournaments in the nation, Pac-12 teams are ready to take on anyone in the NCAA tournament.
—Susan M. Shaw, Forbes, 17 Feb. 2024
The original gauntlet will go on display at Kyburg for a few weeks this fall.
—Sonja Anderson, Smithsonian Magazine, 26 Jan. 2024
While many stars have come close to completing the gauntlet, only 19 individuals have ever actually earned the prestigious title by receiving at least one competitive Emmy, Grammy, Oscar, and Tony Award throughout their storied careers.
—Ew Staff Updated, EW.com, 16 Jan. 2024
For decades, the Globes were an essential stop in Hollywood’s awards show gauntlet, as well as one of the hottest parties in town.
—Jordan Moreau, Variety, 8 Jan. 2024
These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'gauntlet.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.
Dictionary Entries Near gauntlet
Cite this Entry
“Gauntlet.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/gauntlet. Accessed 19 Apr. 2024.
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gauntlet
2 of 2 noun
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