gig
gig — noun
1. a single live show put on by a musician, band, or comedian for people who come t
a single live show put on by a musician, band, or comedian for people who come to watch or listen
Layla's jazz band played their first big gig at a crowded music hall in Tokyo.
collocation: play a gig
The comedian told the audience that this gig was the largest she had ever performed.
Tuan travels with his guitar because he never knows when the next gig will come.
collocation: the next gig
After months of practice, the school band got their first paid gig at a community festival.
pattern: paid gig
The club manager called to offer the singer a regular gig every Saturday night.
- play a gig
- book a gig
- live gig
- gig venue
- do a gig
- headline a gig
- show
more general; a gig is always live music or comedy, while a show can be any type of performance
- concert
usually larger and more formal than a gig; a gig can be at a small venue
- performance
the most general term; each gig is one performance, often part of a tour
Grammar Patterns
gig + as a [musician/comic]
play/have/do a gig
Common Mistakes
2. a paid job that you do for a short and agreed period, not a permanent position
a paid job that you do for a short and agreed period, not a permanent position
Nala took a summer gig as a lifeguard at the city swimming pool.
collocation: summer gig
Hao earned enough from his painting gig to pay for his college books.
Jude found a short gig helping the library move books to a new building.
collocation: short gig
Talia picked up a weekend gig walking dogs for neighbours who work long hours.
After finishing university, Mark found a short gig as a research assistant.
pattern: gig as [role]
- summer gig
- temporary gig
- find a gig
- short gig
- take on a gig
- job
neutral and general; 'gig' specifically suggests something short-term or informal
- assignment
more formal; often used in professional or academic contexts
- stint
suggests a limited period of work, similar to gig, but slightly more formal
- career
a career is long-term and built over many years, unlike a single temporary gig
Grammar Patterns
a [adjective] gig
gig as [noun]
Usage Note
This sense is informal. In formal writing, use 'temporary job' or 'short-term contract' instead.
Common Mistakes
3. a short-term paid task arranged through a digital platform or freelance system,
a short-term paid task arranged through a digital platform or freelance system, often without the regular hours or benefits of a permanent job
Tanvi signed up with a delivery platform and now does gigs in the evening after class.
collocation: do gigs
Christopher makes a living through gig-economy work, taking cleaning jobs from an app.
compound: gig-economy work
More and more students are choosing gigs over full-time roles because of the flexible hours.
The delivery app notifies workers when new gigs become available in their area.
Hao decided to quit his full-time job and focus on high-paying gigs in the tech industry.
pattern: high-paying gigs
- gig economy
- gig worker
- gig platform
- do gigs
- gig job
- gig-based
- freelance job
broader term; freelance work can be long-term projects, whereas a gig is typically one short task
- side hustle
informal; suggests a secondary income source done alongside a main job
- full-time job
a full-time job has regular hours and benefits, unlike gig-economy work
Grammar Patterns
do gigs
gig economy [noun]
gig worker
Usage Note
This sense gained wide use after 2010 with the rise of app-based platforms (Uber, TaskRabbit, etc.). It overlaps with sense 2 but specifically describes the modern freelance economy where work is arranged piece by piece rather than through a single employer.
Common Mistakes
4. a light open vehicle with two large wheels that a single horse draws along, once
a light open vehicle with two large wheels that a single horse draws along, once a common way for one or two people to travel short distances
The museum has an old gig on display with a single seat for two passengers.
historical sense
In the 1800s, farmers used a gig to travel from their village to the market town.
The gig had wooden wheels and a leather seat for the driver and one guest.
Wealthy families in Victorian times often kept a gig for quick trips into town.
collocation: keep a gig
The driver pulled on the reins as the gig approached a narrow bridge over the river.
- horse-drawn gig
- two-wheeled gig
- drive a gig
Usage Note
This is a historical term. You will most often encounter it in novels set in the 1800s or in museum descriptions. It is not used in everyday modern conversation.
5. a light narrow boat built for speed, designed to be rowed or sailed, used especi
a light narrow boat built for speed, designed to be rowed or sailed, used especially in the past for short trips or racing
The fishing crew lowered a gig into the water to row supplies to the shore.
nautical sense
A wooden gig was the fastest way to carry sailors from the anchored ship to land.
Four strong rowers could move a gig across calm waters in a very short time.
The harbour master ordered the crew to prepare the gig for a supply run at dawn.
collocation: prepare the gig
Rowing races between ships' gigs were a common form of entertainment among sailors.
pattern: ships' gigs
- rowing gig
- ship's gig
- sailing gig
- wooden gig
Usage Note
Like the horse-carriage sense (sense 4), this is a niche historical term. You will mainly encounter it in historical texts or maritime museum exhibits.
6. a unit for measuring the amount of digital information a device can hold, equal
a unit for measuring the amount of digital information a device can hold, equal to roughly one billion bytes (1,000,000,000 bytes)
Mark's new phone has 128 gigabytes of space for photos and videos.
pattern: [number] gigabytes of [storage]
The video game takes up nearly 50 gigabytes on the computer hard drive.
Christopher deleted old files from his laptop to free up a few gigabytes of storage.
collocation: free up gigabytes
Talia backed up her important documents to a drive that can hold two thousand gigabytes.
A single high-quality movie can require four or five gigabytes of hard drive space.
pattern: require [number] gigabytes
- gigabyte of storage
- gigabyte of data
- gigabyte file
- free up gigabytes
- 128 GB
- GB
the standard written abbreviation for gigabyte; '256 GB' means 256 gigabytes
Grammar Patterns
[number] gigabytes of [data/storage/memory]
Usage Note
Often shortened to GB in writing (e.g., 'a 256 GB phone'). There is also a precise binary measure called a gibibyte (GiB), but in everyday use gigabyte and GB are standard.
Common Mistakes
gig — verb
1. to perform as a musician or comedian at live shows, especially on a regular basi
to perform as a musician or comedian at live shows, especially on a regular basis
Sivan has been gigging every month with her folk band in different cities across Europe.
progressive form: has been gigging
Vinícius and his friends gigged at local bars for two years before they got a record deal.
The singer spent most of last year gigging in Asia and building a loyal fan base.
pattern: gigging in [location]
The indie band gigged at small venues across the country before landing a festival spot.
Layla loves gigging because she gets to meet new people in every city she visits.
pattern: loves gigging
- gig regularly
- gig around [region]
- start gigging
- gig at [venue]
Grammar Patterns
gig [preposition phrase]
be gigging
Usage Note
This verb is used mostly inside the music industry. It is less common in everyday conversation than the noun form. The continuous form ('gigging') is especially frequent.