garden
noun
a plot of ground, usually near a house, where flowers, shrubs, vegetables, fruits, or herbs are cultivated.
garden
1 American
[gahr-dn]
/ ˈgɑr dn /
noun
-
gardens
plural
-
a plot of ground, usually near a house, where flowers, shrubs, vegetables, fruits, or herbs are cultivated.
-
a piece of ground or other space, commonly with ornamental plants, trees, etc., used as a park or other public recreation area.
a public garden.
-
a fertile and delightful spot or region.
-
British. yard.
adjective
-
pertaining to, produced in, or suitable for cultivation or use in a garden.
fresh garden vegetables; garden furniture.
verb (used without object)
-
gardens,
present (3rd person singular)
-
gardened,
past participle, past
-
gardening
present participle
verb (used with object)
-
gardens,
present (3rd person singular)
-
gardened,
past participle, past
-
gardening
present participle
idioms
Garden
2
American
[gahr-dn]
/ ˈgɑr dn /
noun
-
Alexander, 1730?–91, U.S. naturalist, born in Scotland.
-
Mary, 1877–1967, U.S. soprano.
garden
British
/ ˈɡɑːdən /
noun
-
-
US and Canadian word: yard. an area of land, usually planted with grass, trees, flowerbeds, etc, adjoining a house
-
( as modifier )
a garden chair
-
-
-
an area of land used for the cultivation of ornamental plants, herbs, fruit, vegetables, trees, etc
-
( as modifier )
garden tools
-
-
(often plural) such an area of land that is open to the public, sometimes part of a park
botanical gardens
-
-
a fertile and beautiful region
-
( as modifier )
a garden paradise
-
-
(modifier) provided with or surrounded by a garden or gardens
a garden flat
-
informal to mislead or deceive a person
adjective
verb
garden
More Idioms
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
-
garden-likeadjective
-
gardenableadjective
-
gardenlessadjective
-
gardenlikeadjective
-
ungardenedadjective
-
well-gardenedadjective
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
-
gardensimple
-
gardenssimple
-
have gardenedperfect
-
has gardenedperfect
-
am gardeningprogressive
-
are gardeningprogressive
-
is gardeningprogressive
-
have been gardeningperfect progressive
-
has been gardeningperfect progressive
Past
-
gardenedsimple
-
had gardenedperfect
-
was gardeningprogressive
-
were gardeningprogressive
-
had been gardeningperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of garden
First recorded in 1300–50; Middle English gardin, from Old North French gardin, Old French jardin, from Germanic; compare Old High German gartin-, German Garten; see also yard 2
Explanation
A garden is a piece of land that's used to grow flowers, vegetables, or other plants. Your grandmother might be so proud of her rose garden that she gives every visitor a tour of it. A vegetable garden is often planted in straight rows, sometimes within a raised bed. Flower gardens can take all sorts of shapes, from tidy to meandering. When you work in your garden, pulling weeds or planting seedlings, you garden. In the UK, a garden is what's called a yard in the US — any bit of land just outside of a house. The phrase "garden variety" means "ordinary:" "Oh he's just a garden variety mixed-breed dog, nothing fancy."
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
See Examples For:
La Réserve private homes Opening in October on Praslin island, La Réserve Seychelles features six secluded villas, each with a pool, tropical garden, beach access and butler services.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 29, 2026
Many of the plants in the garden were planted by Julia and her husband, Paul.
From Salon ● Sep. 24, 2026
Many residents have turned to cooking garden weeds as they have run out of the vegetables they managed to grow over the summer, she explains.
From BBC ● Sep. 23, 2026
There are also around 16 fruit trees on the property—including orange, tangerine, grapefruit, lemon, and lime trees—as well as a brick-enclosed vegetable garden.
From MarketWatch ● Sep. 23, 2026
The house in front of us is cheerful and well-kept: painted brick, with garden boxes of poppies in the window.
From "The Brightwood Code" by Monica Hesse
Golden Corral and restaurants such as Olive Garden and Red Lobster are trying to capitalize, rolling out all-you-can-eat selections on their menus.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 26, 2026
The two held a private meeting with aides in the Oval Office after participating in a military review in the Rose Garden and exchanging gifts in the Blue Room.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 24, 2026
Growth was led by a 6.2% jump in comparable sales across its LongHorn Steakhouse brand, while same-restaurant sales across its Olive Garden banner ticked up 1.1%.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 24, 2026
Eight seedlings successfully germinated, with two now transferred to Logan Botanic Garden, where the climate is considered particularly suitable for rare Chilean plants.
From BBC ● Sep. 17, 2026
I remember what it felt like when I was seven and got lost at the Desert Botanical Garden.
From "The Last Cuentista" by Donna Barba Higuera
Mr. Fiennes roams the gardens that surround the home Maupassant had built in 1883 and cycles by a stretch of the Seine where the author sailed his boats.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 25, 2026
Real-estate developers, for instance, create HOAs to maintain common areas such as landscaped gardens or roads.
From MarketWatch ● Sep. 22, 2026
In the past, some in the community considered wild boar and deer pests for damaging their gardens and crops, she said.
From Barron's ● Sep. 17, 2026
"Throughout that time - and around 700 programmes - I have had the privilege of sharing my own abiding passion for gardens and gardening with an equally passionate, and often equally knowledgeable audience," he said.
From BBC ● Sep. 8, 2026
While marching northward, Roz passed beautiful boulevards and architecture and gardens and art.
From "The Wild Robot Escapes" by Peter Brown
Both gardened, and she thinks the accident contributed to their illnesses.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 25, 2026
Growing up, he often gardened with his grandmother in the yard of her home in Baldwin Park.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 23, 2023
A University of Arkansas researcher found that women over 50 who gardened at least once a week showed higher bone-density readings than those who engaged in jogging, swimming, walking or aerobics.
From Seattle Times ● Oct. 15, 2022
If you took time off and played video games or learned to knit or gardened or otherwise cared for yourself in ways employers might not value, be creative in your explanation without lying.
From New York Times ● Jul. 7, 2022
The odd thing is when Father was around she never gardened at all.
From "The Poisonwood Bible" by Barbara Kingsolver
"It's a bit odd they were here in the middle of the night," one local told AFP as she did some gardening in the nearby village of Kempsford.
From Barron's ● Sep. 29, 2026
The event is being held at The Hub at the station, which opened in May last year to help people in crisis, and activities include poetry performances, gardening workshops, art and music.
From BBC ● Sep. 8, 2026
They said Walmart could venture into shorter video content involving things like home renovations and gardening, made in collaboration with suppliers.
From MarketWatch ● Sep. 8, 2026
Growing Well Garden is part of a green social prescribing project, where gardening is used as a therapeutic tool and helps a doctor connect with her patients in a different way.
From BBC ● Sep. 5, 2026
At the other end of the table were various histories, theoretical treatises and practical handbooks on landscape gardening.
From "Atonement" by Ian McEwan
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
