a small wooden hammer used by a judge or chairperson to signal the start or end of a meeting, or by an auctioneer to indicate that bidding is over.
The judge banged his gavel to silence the noisy courtroom.
The auctioneer raised her gavel high before bringing it down to declare the painting sold.
✦ First recorded around 1800 in American English; the origin is uncertain but may be related to dialect words in northern England meaning 'sheaf' or 'handful,' perhaps referring to the shape.
