garland
noun
a wreath or festoon of flowers, leaves, or other material, worn for ornament or as an honor or hung on something as a decoration.
garland
1 American
[gahr-luhnd]
/ ˈgɑr lənd /
noun
-
garlands
plural
-
a wreath or festoon of flowers, leaves, or other material, worn for ornament or as an honor or hung on something as a decoration.
A garland of laurel was placed on the winner's head.
-
a representation of such a wreath or festoon.
-
a collection of short literary pieces, as poems and ballads; literary miscellany.
-
Nautical. a band, collar, or grommet, as of rope.
verb (used with object)
-
garlands,
present (3rd person singular)
-
garlanded,
past participle, past
-
garlanding
present participle
Garland
2
American
[gahr-luhnd]
/ ˈgɑr lənd /
noun
-
Hamlin 1860–1940, U.S. novelist, short-story writer, and poet.
-
Judy Frances Gumm, 1922–69, U.S. singer and actress.
-
a city in NE Texas, near Dallas.
-
a male or female given name.
garland
1
British
/ ˈɡɑːlənd /
noun
-
a wreath or festoon of flowers, leaves, etc, worn round the head or neck or hung up
-
a representation of such a wreath, as in painting, sculpture, etc
-
a collection of short literary pieces, such as ballads or poems; miscellany or anthology
-
nautical a ring or grommet of rope
verb
Garland
2
British
/ ˈɡɑːlənd /
noun
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
-
garlandsimple
-
garlandssimple
-
have garlandedperfect
-
has garlandedperfect
-
am garlandingprogressive
-
are garlandingprogressive
-
is garlandingprogressive
-
have been garlandingperfect progressive
-
has been garlandingperfect progressive
Past
-
garlandedsimple
-
had garlandedperfect
-
was garlandingprogressive
-
were garlandingprogressive
-
had been garlandingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of garland
1275–1325; Middle English ger ( e ) lande, garlande < Old French < ?
Explanation
A garland is a circular arrangement of flowers, worn or hung for decoration. Think of the strings of pine and holly people hang at holiday time, or the ring of roses they put around the Kentucky Derby winner's neck. First recorded circa 1300, the word garland in the simplest terms means a circle of flowers or other greenery. Hawaiian leis are a type of garland, as are holiday wreaths and the little flower crowns that flower girls wear at weddings. If you want to get spiritual about garlands, you can refer back to this Buddha quote: "Fashion your life as a garland of beautiful deeds."
Vocabulary lists containing garland
Forged by Fire
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"To an Athlete Dying Young" by A. E. Housman
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Tolkien Reading Day, List 9
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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:
Unlike the soft, pliable versions of the Christ child in his early Madonnas, this is a monumental, muscular putto, using his strength to hold that garland aloft.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Mar. 24, 2026
“If you had a tree or some garland with 1,000 lights, it might have 800. Things will just get watered down, and so you will be paying the same, if not more, for less.”
From MarketWatch ● Jan. 8, 2026
When fall rolls around, they loop a simple garland of leaves around the bar—nothing fancy, just a whisper of the season.
From Salon ● Nov. 25, 2025
She proceeded to a second tall fence with razor-wire garland and a second buzzer.
From Slate ● May 2, 2025
A garland of yellow and orange marigolds was placed around my neck, and I sat down across from my bridegroom.
From "Homeless Bird" by Gloria Whelan
Garland himself, 26, enters his first full season in L.A. as the team’s go-to scorer.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 28, 2026
“Your plan to reach out publicly about your story, which necessarily includes your involvement with the Manson family, would bring notoriety and glorification to that,” said Parole Board Commissioner Julie Garland.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 14, 2026
Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of New York and the Justice Department, working for then-attorney general and deputy attorney general Janet Reno and Merrick Garland.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 28, 2026
The Stacys and other families filed formal requests in September 2023 to the attorney general’s office, then led by Merrick Garland, which administers the fund.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 2, 2026
I looked around Garland, and in my heart, I knew it was the best place for me.
From "Schooled" by Gordon Korman
For the last year, “Gracias Gustavo” garlands have adorned the city, thanking Dudamel for doing just that during his 17 seasons heading the L.A.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 26, 2026
Relatives of the victims and those who survived the fire visited the blackened bar on Tuesday, some laying garlands and praying for the dead.
From Barron's ● Jul. 14, 2026
The fandom is intense and ritualistic, with celebratory first-day screenings, midnight and 04:00 shows, milk offerings on towering cut-outs, garlands, drums, and whistles.
From BBC ● Jan. 12, 2026
And the extras that people load up on when they are feeling flush, such as wreaths and garlands and baskets, haven’t been selling well at all.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Dec. 19, 2025
The Baxter house sparkled with multicolored lights and evergreen garlands draped with icicles.
From "The Red Umbrella" by Christina Gonzalez
From east to west, north to south, L.A. was garlanded with banners that read “¡Bienvenido Gustavo!”
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 26, 2026
She hit the buzzer at the first high chain-link fence, which was garlanded with a spool of razor wire atop.
From Slate ● May 2, 2025
He was garlanded with praise from the prime minister down for what was seen as a brave act of statesmanship.
From BBC ● Mar. 29, 2024
They had been released in 2022, when they were garlanded with flowers by their families and a lawmaker from Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s governing Bharatiya Janata Party.
From Seattle Times ● Mar. 5, 2024
Cabin two was more graceful somehow, with slimmer columns garlanded with pomegranates and flowers.
From "The Lightning Thief" by Rick Riordan
The village headman summoned her and said that by garlanding Nehru, she had become his bride.
From BBC ● Dec. 13, 2023
They hung a poster for Ms. Leiker amid the photos and flowers garlanding a security fence outside the shuttered King Soopers.
From New York Times ● Apr. 9, 2021
And in 105- degree heat, hundreds of well-wishers leaned out from balconies, snapped photos and pushed forward to greet him, garlanding him with marigolds, pelting him with flower petals and offering sweets.
From Washington Post ● May 27, 2015
Photograph: Allstar/Universal Pictures; David James; Allstar After indulging Europe by garlanding The Artist last year and The King's Speech in 2011, the Oscars seem set to come home.
From The Guardian ● Feb. 21, 2013
On another wall was a framed photograph of Comrade Pillai garlanding Comrade E. M. S. Namboodiripad.
From "The God of Small Things" by Arundhati Roy
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.
