noun
gangster
GANG-stuh
noun
1
A member of an organized criminal gang.
"The film is a classic story about a small-time gangster rising to power."
adj
1
Informal: tough, admirable, or impressively bold in a criminal-cool sense.
"Wearing that suit to the meeting was pretty gangster of him."
How to Use Gangster
Learner’s notesIn plain EnglishA criminal belonging to an organized gang, or (as slang) something impressively bold or "cool".
When to use it
The adjective use ("that's gangster") is very informal slang.
Word Forms
more gangster comparative, gangstered past tense, gangsters plural, gangsters singular, most gangster superlative
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The film is a classic story about a small-time _____ rising to power.
Etymology
From gang + -ster, first recorded in the 1880s.