gat
GAT is slang for a pistol or gun, derived from "Gatling gun." It's also the archaic past tense of "get." In word games, GAT is a valuable 3-letter word worth 4 points, perfect for tight board situations and quick scoring opportunities.
4
Points in Scrabble
Base tile values • No multipliers applied
GAT carries two distinct meanings that showcase English's linguistic diversity. Most commonly in modern usage, "gat" serves as American slang for a gun or pistol, particularly popular in 1920s-1940s gangster vernacular and later in hip-hop culture. This usage evolved from "Gatling gun," the rapid-fire weapon invented by Richard Gatling in 1861. The shortened form "gat" emerged in urban American slang by the 1900s, immortalized in crime novels, film noir, and gangster movies.
The second meaning of GAT represents the archaic simple past tense of "get." Before modern English standardized "got" as the past tense, "gat" appeared frequently in older texts, particularly in biblical translations and classical literature. You'll encounter phrases like "he gat him up" (he got himself up) in the King James Bible and works by Chaucer. While this usage sounds antiquated today, it remains valid in word games and appears in historical or deliberately archaic writing.
In gangster slang, "gat" became synonymous with criminal culture during Prohibition. Classic phrases like "pack a gat" (carry a gun) or "reach for your gat" populated pulp fiction and early Hollywood. The word experienced a revival in 1990s hip-hop, where artists like Dr. Dre, Snoop Dogg, and The Notorious B.I.G. frequently referenced "gats" in their lyrics, cementing its place in modern urban vocabulary.
For Scrabble and word game enthusiasts, GAT represents tactical gold. As a 3-letter word, it fits into tight spaces where longer words won't work. The G provides decent value at 2 points, while A and T are common letters that increase playability. GAT works excellently for: - Opening plays when you need to establish board position - Parallel plays alongside existing words - Creating multiple two-letter words (GA, AT) - Quick dumps when holding difficult letters - End-game situations with limited space
The word's pattern (consonant-vowel-consonant) represents one of English's most common structures, making GAT easy to remember and less likely to be challenged. It shares this pattern with numerous valid 3-letter words: BAT, CAT, HAT, MAT, PAT, RAT, SAT, VAT—all differing only in the initial consonant. This family of -AT words provides excellent flexibility in word games, allowing players to build off existing A or T tiles.
The etymology of "gat" reveals two entirely separate linguistic paths that converged into one spelling. The older meaning—past tense of "get"—traces back to Old English "geat," from Proto-Germanic "*getan." This Germanic root connects to Old Norse "geta," Gothic "gitan," and ultimately Proto-Indo-European "*ghend-" (to seize, take). Medieval English used "gat" as the standard past tense until "got" gradually replaced it by the 16th century.
The slang meaning "gun" has a completely different origin, emerging from American English in the early 1900s. It's a shortened form of "Gatling gun," the revolutionary rapid-fire weapon patented by Richard Jordan Gatling in 1862. The Gatling gun's devastating effectiveness in the Civil War and subsequent conflicts made it infamous. By 1900, "Gatling" was being clipped to "gat" in criminal slang, possibly influenced by the sharp, staccato sound of the word matching the weapon's rapid fire.
The transformation from "Gatling" to "gat" follows common patterns in slang formation: clipping (shortening words) and semantic narrowing (specific term becoming generic). Just as "phone" came from "telephone" and "plane" from "airplane," "gat" emerged from "Gatling." The word's adoption by criminal underworld and later by Hollywood cemented its place in American vernacular, completely overshadowing its archaic grammatical meaning in popular usage.
•The Gatling gun could fire 200 rounds per minute in 1862—revolutionary compared to single-shot rifles of the era
•"Gat" appears in the King James Bible 358 times as the past tense of "get"—more than many common modern words
•In 1920s Chicago, "gat" became so synonymous with gangster culture that newspapers used it in headlines: "Gangster's Gat Gets Him"
•The -AT word family (BAT, CAT, GAT, HAT, etc.) contains over 20 valid Scrabble words—memorizing them guarantees quick plays
"The detective found the suspect's gat hidden under the floorboards, still loaded with bullets from the robbery."
"In the old manuscript, the phrase 'he gat no answer' meant he received no response to his plea."
"The rapper's lyrics referenced 'keeping a gat for protection,' reflecting street life's harsh realities."
"Playing GAT parallel to CAT scored points for both GA and AT, demonstrating smart board positioning."
Total base points: 4 (Scrabble)
Vowels: 1 | Consonants: 2
Build from GAT:
Two-letter words with G:
Master these 3-letter words for quick plays in Scrabble
Pro tip: Memorize the entire -AT family. These words share the same ending, making them easy to remember and spot on the board.
Practice unscrambling letters to find more high-scoring words like GAT