noun
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a person who works in or takes care of a garden as an occupation or pastime
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any bowerbird of the genus Amblyornis
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Etymology
Origin of gardener
1250–1300; Middle English < Old North French gardinier ( Old French jardinier ). See garden, -er 2
Explanation
A person whose hobby or job is growing flowers in a garden is called a gardener. If you want homegrown flowers and veggies, get to know a gardener. If you grow vegetables professionally, you're called a farmer, but if you design, tend, or care for a flower garden, you're a gardener. Planting anything on a small scale, in your own backyard, also makes you a gardener. The word gardener was a common last name starting in the 13th century, from the Old French jardineor, and the Old North French gardin, "kitchen garden or orchard."
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:
I’m not a natural gardener, but I really enjoy it.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 10, 2026
But when Lee shared her frustrations with her graduate school adviser, noted author and avid gardener Jamaica Kincaid, she got the encouragement she needed.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 10, 2026
The bomb had been spotted by Ewan Barnard, a biochemistry student at the University of East Anglia, who was working as a gardener.
From BBC ● May 28, 2026
I forget about it, given I am not a gardener.
From Salon ● May 9, 2026
Okay, I was not expecting our emergency backup plan for saving the world to include a gardener, even one the size of a house.
From "City of the Plague God" by Sarwat Chadda
Agriculture regulators advise home gardeners to either consume homegrown produce on site or not move it at all from the property to prevent the spread of the fly to nearby regions.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 30, 2026
Even home gardeners might dig it, as they contemplate buying chickens.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 2, 2026
There will be a sense of togetherness for all the gardeners gathered, after all, gnome man is an island.
From BBC ● May 18, 2026
For only the second time, a ban on gnomes has been lifted this year by the Royal Horticultural Society, an opportunity that seemed to have been grasped by gardeners with both tiny ceramic hands.
From BBC ● May 18, 2026
But in the shade of the papaya trees the soil was dark brown, with the moist, friable feel that gardeners seek.
From "1491" by Charles C. Mann
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.
