a plot of ground, usually near a house, where flowers, shrubs, vegetables, fruits, or herbs are cultivated.
a piece of ground or other space, commonly with ornamental plants, trees, etc., used as a park or other public recreation area.
a public garden.
a fertile and delightful spot or region.
British. yard.
pertaining to, produced in, or suitable for cultivation or use in a garden.
fresh garden vegetables; garden furniture.
Alexander, 1730?–91, U.S. naturalist, born in Scotland.
Mary, 1877–1967, U.S. soprano.
US and Canadian word: yard. an area of land, usually planted with grass, trees, flowerbeds, etc, adjoining a house
( as modifier )
a garden chair
an area of land used for the cultivation of ornamental plants, herbs, fruit, vegetables, trees, etc
( as modifier )
garden tools
(often plural) such an area of land that is open to the public, sometimes part of a park
botanical gardens
a fertile and beautiful region
( as modifier )
a garden paradise
(modifier) provided with or surrounded by a garden or gardens
a garden flat
informal to mislead or deceive a person
First recorded in 1300–50; Middle English gardin, from Old North French gardin, Old French jardin, from Germanic; compare Old High German gartin-, German Garten; see also yard 2
A garden is a piece of land that's used to grow flowers, vegetables, or other plants. Your grandmother might be so proud of her rose garden that she gives every visitor a tour of it. A vegetable garden is often planted in straight rows, sometimes within a raised bed. Flower gardens can take all sorts of shapes, from tidy to meandering. When you work in your garden, pulling weeds or planting seedlings, you garden. In the UK, a garden is what's called a yard in the US — any bit of land just outside of a house. The phrase "garden variety" means "ordinary:" "Oh he's just a garden variety mixed-breed dog, nothing fancy."
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
The thing that helped most was finding my own secret garden, a nearby bird sanctuary that crags out over Lake Michigan.
From Salon ● Jul. 28, 2026
That love is palpable in “Drifting Toward Twilight” and its accompanying documentary, which sees Saar fawning over the orange tint of sloughed bark and the mystical qualities of garden scraps.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 27, 2026
But will she choose Mr. Ryder, the libertine with a hangup about marriage, or Mr. Hayward, the tortured empath who recites poetry to her in a hidden garden?
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 26, 2026
He was speaking from the shaded courtyard garden of his Mayer am Pfarrplatz heuriger, down the steps from the room where Beethoven stayed while composing part of the Ninth Symphony.
From Barron's ● Jul. 26, 2026
Typically they do not bother us much—although my wife had a bear chase her from the garden to the house one morning—but they do bother the dogs.
From "Woodsong" by Gary Paulsen
While some of the old Footlights team went off to form Monty Python, Oddie - together with Graeme Garden and Tim Brooke-Taylor - created The Goodies.
From BBC ● Jul. 27, 2026
Garden hose in hand, Georges Clivaz sprayed water along a road leading to his property in Saint-Jean-d'Illac in Gironde as the blaze burned a few kilometres away.
From Barron's ● Jul. 27, 2026
But the margin of the vote split was stunning: The court, sitting en banc, ruled 10–5 against the Garden State’s laws, with Judge Arianna Freeman—a progressive appointee of President Joe Biden—writing the majority opinion.
From Slate ● Jul. 24, 2026
At 4:30 p.m., he will host the Los Angeles Dodgers, the 2025 World Series Champions, in the Rose Garden.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 23, 2026
Annabelle loved The Secret Garden when she was a kid.
From "A Heart in a Body in the World" by Deb Caletti
Walking trails, native gardens and playpens ring the structure, watched over by an army of volunteers.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 28, 2026
The crowds were a welcome boon for the bartenders, enlivening what is usually a lull at Joxer Daly’s, which is away from the beaches and beer gardens where customers gather in the summer.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 24, 2026
He visited Tahnoon’s seaside palace at dusk, strolling its verdant gardens alongside the sheikh, whose eye condition causes him to wear sunglasses all the time.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 19, 2026
This means hosepipes cannot be used for watering gardens, washing vehicles and windows and filling pools.
From BBC ● Jul. 15, 2026
Nok and her father had had a rare night alone, and he'd brought her to the gardens as a treat.
From "A Wish in the Dark" by Christina Soontornvat
Growing up, he often gardened with his grandmother in the yard of her home in Baldwin Park.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 23, 2023
As we gardened and invested in gardens for different social, educational and environmental reasons in rapidly gentrifying neighborhoods, we contributed to increasing land values in a process described as green gentrification.
From Salon ● Sep. 9, 2022
If you took time off and played video games or learned to knit or gardened or otherwise cared for yourself in ways employers might not value, be creative in your explanation without lying.
From New York Times ● Jul. 7, 2022
There, Oberlander gardened in earnest — her mother was a horticulturist — and developed a deep affinity for the land.
From Seattle Times ● Jun. 5, 2021
All I could think about was how Abuela had gardened.
From "The Epic Fail of Arturo Zamora" by Pablo Cartaya
That applies to everything from investing to gardening.
From MarketWatch ● Jul. 25, 2026
Researchers, gardening experts and horticulturists offer recommendations for dealing with your garden after the warehouse fire in Boyle Heights.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 10, 2026
In 2020 the couple started their own Welsh tropical gardening group, where people would share tips and tricks for growing.
From BBC ● Jul. 1, 2026
Today, she says everyday activities such as gardening and riding a stationary bicycle are far more enjoyable because of the reduction in pain.
From Science Daily ● Jun. 23, 2026
I ain’t partial to swords—the time on the reverse is too long if you miscalculate your swing—but it’s better than a couple of rusty gardening blades.
From "Dread Nation" by Justina Ireland
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.
