gather
Americanverb (used with object)
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to bring together into one group, collection, or place.
to gather firewood; to gather the troops.
- Synonyms:
- hoard , garner , amass , accumulate
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to bring together or assemble from various places, sources, or people; collect gradually.
The college is gathering a faculty from all over the country.
- Synonyms:
- hoard , garner , amass , accumulate
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to serve as a center of attention for; attract.
A good football game always gathers a crowd.
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to pick or harvest (any crop or natural yield) from its place of growth or formation.
to gather fruit; to gather flowers.
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to pick up piece by piece.
Gather your toys from the floor.
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to pick or scoop up.
She gathered the crying child in her arms.
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to collect (as taxes, dues, money owed, etc.).
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to accumulate; increase.
The storm gathers force.
The car gathered speed.
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to take by selection from among other things; sort out; cull.
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to assemble or collect (one's energies or oneself ) as for an effort (often followed byup ).
He gathered up his strength for the hard job.
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to learn or conclude from observation; infer; deduce.
I gather that he is the real leader.
- Synonyms:
- understand , assume
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to wrap or draw around or close.
He gathered his scarf around his neck.
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to contract (the brow) into wrinkles.
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to draw (cloth) up on a thread in fine folds or puckers by means of even stitches.
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Bookbinding. to assemble (the printed sections of a book) in proper sequence for binding.
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Nautical. to gain (way) from a dead stop or extremely slow speed.
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Metalworking. to increase the sectional area of (stock) by any of various operations.
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Glassmaking. to accumulate or collect (molten glass) at the end of a tube for blowing, shaping, etc.
verb (used without object)
-
to come together around a central point; assemble.
Let's gather round the fire and sing.
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to collect or accumulate.
Clouds were gathering in the northeast.
- Synonyms:
- accrete
-
to grow, as by accretion; increase.
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to become contracted into wrinkles, folds, creases, etc., as the brow or as cloth.
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to come to a head, as a sore in suppurating.
noun
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a drawing together; contraction.
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Often gathers. a fold or pucker, as in gathered cloth.
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an act or instance of gathering.
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an amount or number gathered, as during a harvest.
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Glassmaking. a mass of molten glass attached to the end of a punty.
idioms
verb
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to assemble or cause to assemble
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to collect or be collected gradually; muster
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(tr) to learn from information given; conclude or assume
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(tr) to pick or harvest (flowers, fruit, etc)
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(tr; foll by to or into) to clasp or embrace
the mother gathered the child into her arms
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(tr) to bring close (to) or wrap (around)
she gathered her shawl about her shoulders
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to increase or cause to increase gradually, as in force, speed, intensity, etc
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to contract (the brow) or (of the brow) to become contracted into wrinkles; knit
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(tr) to assemble (sections of a book) in the correct sequence for binding
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(tr) to collect by making a selection
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(tr) to prepare or make ready
to gather one's wits
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to draw (material) into a series of small tucks or folds by passing a thread through it and then pulling it tight
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(intr) (of a boil or other sore) to come to a head; form pus
noun
-
-
the act of gathering
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the amount gathered
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a small fold in material, as made by a tightly pulled stitch; tuck
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printing an informal name for section
Related Words
Gather, assemble, collect, muster, marshal imply bringing or drawing together. Gather expresses the general idea usually with no implication of arrangement: to gather seashells. Assemble is used of objects or facts brought together preparatory to arranging them: to assemble data for a report. Collect implies purposeful accumulation to form an ordered whole: to collect evidence. Muster, primarily a military term, suggests thoroughness in the process of collection: to muster all one's resources. Marshal, another term primarily military, suggests rigorously ordered, purposeful arrangement: to marshal facts for effective presentation.
Other Word Forms
- gatherable adjective
- gatherer noun
- pregather verb (used without object)
- regather verb
- ungathered adjective
- well-gathered adjective
Etymology
Origin of gather
First recorded before 900; Middle English gaderen, Old English gaderian, derivative of geador “together,” akin to gæd “fellowship”; together, good
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.
Authorities are working with families gathered at the scene of the disaster to try to determine exactly how many people still need to be found.
From BBC
At Taï, where chimps more often eat fruit that has fallen, the team similarly gathered undamaged and unbitten fruits from the ground below fruiting trees.
From Science Daily
His death has sent shockwaves across the nation, with supporters gathering at the party headquarters in Douala to grieve.
From BBC
Targa Resources agreed to acquire Stakeholder Midstream, which provides natural gas gathering and processing services in the Permian Basin, for $1.25 billion in cash.
On Sunday, thousands of people had gathered outside the charred buildings in Hong Kong’s Tai Po district to lay flowers and leave mementos and messages such as “rest in peace” and “Hong Kong be strong.”
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.
