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gangland
noun
gang·land
ˈgaŋ-ˌland
-lənd
often attributive
: the world of organized crime
a gangland killing
Examples of gangland in a Sentence
Recent Examples on the Web
The gangland-style murders made the front page.
—Stephanie Mansfield, Good Housekeeping, 11 Aug. 2022
Salemme, who has admitted to a slew of other gangland killings, was living in Atlanta under the name Richard Parker when remains of the nightclub owner were unearthed in 2016, making the elderly ex-Mafia don a government target once again.
—CBS News, 18 Dec. 2022
Or, perhaps, this was a gangland killing, as Twinsburg Police Chief Don Prange speculated to the Akron Beacon Journal.
—Brenna Ehrlich, Rolling Stone, 21 Aug. 2022
The film kicks off with Travis, a tough, black guy from South London with a gangland past, being released from prison, to be met by his partner Candice.
—Leo Barraclough, Variety, 30 Sep. 2022
His notoriety grew in 2012 when he was identified on banners as being the one responsible for a spate of gangland violence in Hermosillo, Agua Prieta and Nogales.
—Kristina Davis, San Diego Union-Tribune, 31 Aug. 2022
In 1973 a 20-year-old Korean immigrant named Chol Soo Lee was arrested for a gangland shooting in San Francisco’s Chinatown.
—Joan MacDonald, Forbes, 9 Aug. 2022
New York’s last true gangland rubout occurred in the Throggs Neck neighborhood of the Bronx, in November, 2013, when Michael Meldish, a member of a freelance criminal outfit called the Purple Gang, was shot to death.
—Tom Robbins, The New Yorker, 23 July 2022
Then, 14 days later, Gotti and his crew staged a gangland coup, gunning down Gambino boss Paul Castellano and his driver, Tommy Bilotti, outside Sparks Steak House in Manhattan.
—Michael Daly, Washington Post, 8 July 2022
These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'gangland.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.
Word History
Etymology
First Known Use
1912, in the meaning defined above
Dictionary Entries Near gangland
Cite this Entry
“Gangland.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/gangland. Accessed 15 Jun. 2024.
Kids Definition
gangland
noun
gang·land
ˈgaŋ-ˌland
-lənd
: the world of organized crime
Legal Definition
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