garden
noun
a plot of ground, usually near a house, where flowers, shrubs, vegetables, fruits, or herbs are cultivated.
garden
1 American
[gahr-dn]
/ ˈgɑr dn /
noun
-
gardens
plural
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a plot of ground, usually near a house, where flowers, shrubs, vegetables, fruits, or herbs are cultivated.
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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.
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a fertile and delightful spot or region.
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British. yard.
adjective
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pertaining to, produced in, or suitable for cultivation or use in a garden.
fresh garden vegetables; garden furniture.
verb (used without object)
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gardens,
present (3rd person singular)
-
gardened,
past participle, past
-
gardening
present participle
verb (used with object)
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gardens,
present (3rd person singular)
-
gardened,
past participle, past
-
gardening
present participle
idioms
Garden
2
American
[gahr-dn]
/ ˈgɑr dn /
noun
-
Alexander, 1730?–91, U.S. naturalist, born in Scotland.
-
Mary, 1877–1967, U.S. soprano.
garden
British
/ ˈɡɑːdən /
noun
-
-
US and Canadian word: yard. an area of land, usually planted with grass, trees, flowerbeds, etc, adjoining a house
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( as modifier )
a garden chair
-
-
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an area of land used for the cultivation of ornamental plants, herbs, fruit, vegetables, trees, etc
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( 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
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informal to mislead or deceive a person
adjective
verb
garden
More Idioms
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
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garden-likeadjective
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gardenableadjective
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gardenlessadjective
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gardenlikeadjective
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ungardenedadjective
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well-gardenedadjective
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
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gardensimple
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gardenssimple
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have gardenedperfect
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has gardenedperfect
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am gardeningprogressive
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are gardeningprogressive
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is gardeningprogressive
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have been gardeningperfect progressive
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has been gardeningperfect progressive
Past
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gardenedsimple
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had gardenedperfect
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was gardeningprogressive
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were gardeningprogressive
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had been gardeningperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of garden
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
Explanation
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."
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’ve always thought every yard deserves a nice piece of garden art,” Gatwood told The Times.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 14, 2026
The primary suite is one of a kind, featuring a spa-inspired bath, a free-standing soaking tub, a glass-enclosed shower, and a custom floating vanity, all accompanied by a terrace overlooking the garden.
From MarketWatch ● Aug. 14, 2026
Although under a somewhat faded exterior, Pacoima Middle School has flashy technology and other attributes, including expanded academic offerings, rising test scores, a robotics lab, a room of new fitness equipment and added garden space.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 12, 2026
But the garden was dismantled in 1760, only leaving its outline to be revealed in spells of particularly hot weather.
From BBC ● Aug. 9, 2026
I turned around and picked up the garden hose, which was lying coiled on the edge of the patio.
From "Firegirl" by Tony Abbott
We were called Mr. Crowe’s Garden at the time — we weren’t yet the Black Crowes.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 14, 2026
Kelce and Swift tied the knot on 3 July at New York's Madison Square Garden in a star-studded event that was largely kept private.
From BBC ● Aug. 12, 2026
Then, over July 4 weekend, even those who didn’t consider themselves Swifties, had an opinion about Taylor Swift’s Madison Square Garden wedding to Travis Kelce.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 10, 2026
Montclair, N.J., ranked second, followed by Sewell, also in the Garden State.
From MarketWatch ● Aug. 10, 2026
That’s why I answered Garden Autumn so immediately, even if I’d never normally admit those things out loud.
From "Kwame Crashes the Underworld" by Craig Kofi Farmer
One firefighter was hospitalised and five others suffered minor injuries, the fire service confirmed, with crews continuing to extinguish "hotspots" in open grassland, along a railway and in gardens.
From Barron's ● Aug. 14, 2026
From vantage points to pub gardens and homes, here's how you viewed the once-in-a-generation solar eclipse.
From BBC ● Aug. 12, 2026
The entire lot measures more than 34,000 square feet, with landscaped gardens and lawns.
From MarketWatch ● Aug. 10, 2026
In the front gardens, yellow and red roses bloom to match the houses’ exteriors; in the back, a sunny 4-foot cocktail pool with a natural limestone border awaits guests.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 6, 2026
“As he so rarely leaves the house these days, renovating the gardens seemed a good place to start. Would you like to see what it will look like when it is complete?”
From "The Night Circus" by Erin Morgenstern
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 a lifelong gardener who has spent a career in retail horticulture and garden writing, I found myself initially chafing at the author’s call to say goodbye to the way we’ve gardened for generations.
From Seattle Times ● Apr. 8, 2023
During the study, researchers found, those who gardened ate more fruit and vegetables than their counterparts, increasing their consumption by about 1.13 servings per day.
From Washington Post ● Jan. 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
The odd thing is when Father was around she never gardened at all.
From "The Poisonwood Bible" by Barbara Kingsolver
He spends a lot of time outside gardening and working on his cars and can seemingly sense whenever a neighbor is having car trouble.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 6, 2026
And Fernando said he’s more likely to see a retired neighbor gardening than a child on a bicycle.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 27, 2026
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
Once, when Sefia had asked why she loved gardening so much, her mother had sighed and sat back on her heels.
From "The Reader" by Traci Chee
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.
