gig

The word “gig” means a single performance booking for a musician or entertainer. In plain terms, a performance booking or, more broadly these days, any short-term or freelance job.

“Gig” is pronounced gihg (/ɡɪɡ/ in IPA).

Here is “gig” used in a sentence: “The band played a gig at the local pub on Friday.”

Depending on how it is used, “gig” can be a noun and a verb.

The word “gig” comes from Old French. Origin uncertain, though possibly related to Old French gigue, "a fiddle.".

“Gig” is a fairly common word in modern English, usually learned at around the C1 level.

“Gig” has 3 distinct senses listed in this dictionary. The most common is: a single performance booking for a musician or entertainer.

The gig economy is a labour market built on short-term, freelance, or on-demand jobs, known as gigs, rather than permanent employment. Delivery riders, ride-share drivers, and freelance designers are typical gig workers, paid per task or booking instead of a fixed salary.

A gig is a single booked performance, and the word is informal: musicians talk about 'playing a gig' whether it is in a pub or a stadium. A concert usually suggests a more formal, organised performance, often with a larger audience. Any concert can loosely be called a gig, but small casual shows are rarely called concerts.

Yes. To gig means to perform live as a musician or entertainer, as in 'the band has been gigging around the country for years'. The verb is informal and especially common in music journalism.

Gig is an informal word in both its music sense and its job sense. On a CV or in formal writing, 'engagement', 'booking', 'contract', or 'freelance project' are safer choices, while gig suits everyday speech and casual writing.