gather

American  

[gath-er] / ˈgæð ər /

verb (used with object)

gathers, present (3rd person singular) gathered, past participle, past gathering present participle

1. to bring together into one group, collection, or place.

   to gather firewood; to gather the troops.

   Synonyms:

   hoard, garner, amass, accumulate

   Antonyms:

   disperse, separate

2. 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

3. to serve as a center of attention for; attract.

   A good football game always gathers a crowd.

4. to pick or harvest (any crop or natural yield) from its place of growth or formation.

   to gather fruit; to gather flowers.

   Synonyms:

   garner, glean, reap, crop, pluck

5. to pick up piece by piece.

   Gather your toys from the floor.

6. to pick or scoop up.

   She gathered the crying child in her arms.

7. to collect (as taxes, dues, money owed, etc.).

8. to accumulate; increase.

   The storm gathers force.

   The car gathered speed.

9. to take by selection from among other things; sort out; cull.

10. 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.

11. to learn or conclude from observation; infer; deduce.

    I gather that he is the real leader.

    Synonyms:

    understand, assume

12. to wrap or draw around or close.

    He gathered his scarf around his neck.

13. to contract (the brow) into wrinkles.

14. to draw (cloth) up on a thread in fine folds or puckers by means of even stitches.

15. Bookbinding. to assemble (the printed sections of a book) in proper sequence for binding.

16. Nautical. to gain (way) from a dead stop or extremely slow speed.

17. Metalworking. to increase the sectional area of (stock) by any of various operations.

18. Glassmaking. to accumulate or collect (molten glass) at the end of a tube for blowing, shaping, etc.

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verb (used without object)

gathers, present (3rd person singular) gathered, past participle, past gathering present participle

1. to come together around a central point; assemble.

   Let's gather round the fire and sing.

   Antonyms:

   disperse, separate

2. to collect or accumulate.

   Clouds were gathering in the northeast.

   Synonyms:

   accrete

3. to grow, as by accretion; increase.

4. to become contracted into wrinkles, folds, creases, etc., as the brow or as cloth.

5. to come to a head, as a sore in suppurating.

noun

1. a drawing together; contraction.

2. Often gathers. a fold or pucker, as in gathered cloth.

3. an act or instance of gathering.

4. an amount or number gathered, as during a harvest.

5. Glassmaking. a mass of molten glass attached to the end of a punty.

idioms

1. be gathered to one's fathers, to die.

gather British  

/ ˈɡæðə /

verb

1. to assemble or cause to assemble

2. to collect or be collected gradually; muster

3. (tr) to learn from information given; conclude or assume

4. (tr) to pick or harvest (flowers, fruit, etc)

5. (tr; foll by to or into) to clasp or embrace

   the mother gathered the child into her arms

6. (tr) to bring close (to) or wrap (around)

   she gathered her shawl about her shoulders

7. to increase or cause to increase gradually, as in force, speed, intensity, etc

8. to contract (the brow) or (of the brow) to become contracted into wrinkles; knit

9. (tr) to assemble (sections of a book) in the correct sequence for binding

10. (tr) to collect by making a selection

11. (tr) to prepare or make ready

    to gather one's wits

12. to draw (material) into a series of small tucks or folds by passing a thread through it and then pulling it tight

13. (intr) (of a boil or other sore) to come to a head; form pus

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noun

1. 1. the act of gathering

   2. the amount gathered

2. a small fold in material, as made by a tightly pulled stitch; tuck

3. printing an informal name for section

gather More Idioms  

1. see rolling stone gathers no moss.

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Synonym Usage

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

Derived Forms

• gatherable
  adjective
• ungathered
  adjective
• regather
  verb
• well-gathered
  adjective
• gatherer
  noun
• pregather
  verb (used without object)

Conjugated Forms

Present

• has gathered
  perfect 3rd person singular
• have gathered
  perfect
• is gathering
  progressive 3rd person singular
• are gathering
  progressive
• gathering
  participle
• am gathering
  progressive 1st person singular
• have been gathering
  perfect progressive
• has been gathering
  perfect progressive 3rd person singular
• gathers
  singular 3rd person

Past

• had gathered
  perfect
• had been gathering
  perfect progressive
• was gathering
  progressive singular
• were gathering
  progressive plural
• gathered
  participle
• gathered
  simple

Future

• will gather
  simple
• will have gathered
  perfect
• will be gathering
  progressive
• will have been gathering
  perfect progressive

Etymology

Origin of gather

First recorded before 900; Middle English gaderen, Old English gaderian, derivative of geador “together,” akin to gæd “fellowship”; cf. together, good

Explanation

Gather is a verb with many related meanings, most involving drawing together or assembling something. You may gather your socks into the laundry bag, or you may gather your thoughts by making a list. Gather often is used to describe bringing people together for some purpose, like the students who gather in the hallway awaiting an announcement. Gather can also refer to an increase or gain, like when you gather speed and go faster on your bike. Gather can describe coming to a conclusion or an understanding. After listening to your brother's comments and watching him pack up his video games, you may gather that he isn't going to be around for dinner.

Example Sentences

The law lets the intelligence community gather information from foreigners overseas and store it in a database.

From The Wall Street Journal • Jun. 8, 2026

“Sometimes they file an extension because they didn’t start early enough to get organized and gather their 1099s and other forms,” said Jessica Banitt, a Houston-based certified public accountant and certified financial planner.

From MarketWatch • Jun. 8, 2026

Rather than relying exclusively on archival institutional repositories, the studio executed specialized field expeditions to a variety of distinct global environments to gather raw primary telemetry like detailed images, LiDAR scans, weather data and sound.

From Los Angeles Times • Jun. 5, 2026

This kind of commiseration in the form of light, joking banter exists wherever heterosexual women gather.

From Salon • Jun. 3, 2026

When Joey’s friends gather the belongings in her modest apartment, they discover a few record albums, many autographed theater and ballet posters, and nearly nine hundred books.

From "At Last She Stood" by Erin Entrada Kelly

Related Words

• assemble
• choose
• cluster
• collect
• congregate
• convene
• converge
• crowd
• draw
• flock
• huddle
• meet
• pick
• round up
• show up