noun
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clothes, esp the distinctive attire of an occupation or profession
clerical garb
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style of dress; fashion
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external appearance, covering, or attire
verb
Other Word Forms
- garbless adjective
- undergarb noun
- ungarbed adjective
Etymology
Origin of garb
1585–95; < Middle French garbe graceful outline < Old Italian garbo grace < Germanic; compare Old High German garawen, Old English gearwian to prepare, adorn ( gar 2 ), gear
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.
Daedone, who wore tan jail garb and leg shackles, looked serene throughout the proceeding.
From The Wall Street Journal • Mar. 30, 2026
The Mexican immigration agents who had guarded the group on their three-day trip from the border said their charges, still dressed in the prison garb of detainees, were now free to go.
From Los Angeles Times • Mar. 21, 2026
He became a fixture on television news, wearing either military style tactical gear or a long, double-breasted green overcoat with wide lapels that critics said was meant to echo Nazi German military garb.
From Barron's • Mar. 17, 2026
"And, you know, I got to offend somebody from Scotland the second they walked in with my English shirt," he jokes, referencing my barely disguised displeasure at his choice of interview garb.
From BBC • Dec. 16, 2025
Remembering the warmth and love she had bestowed upon us on the hill, I reached up and caressed the Virgen’s glorious blue garb, tracing the embroidered stars delicately with the tips of my fingers.
From "Summer of the Mariposas" by Guadalupe García McCall
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.
