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.
Alan had worked as a landscape gardener before launching a training and life-coaching business, while Katie was an actuary, or risk assessor, for a financial firm.
From BBC • Jun. 29, 2026
He joked that he had a previous "career as a gardener", and his wife Diana Fox quoted Christy Moore's Don't Forget Your Shovel as he worked.
From BBC • Jun. 14, 2026
Liou and her gardener helped Lee install it and build a bioswale to catch rainwater, using stones from Valley Builders Supply and some larger rocks from Bourget Bros.
From Los Angeles Times • Jun. 10, 2026
I forget about it, given I am not a gardener.
From Salon • May 9, 2026
I ducked, shocked the gardener would go so far as to throw a stone just to keep up his pretense.
From "The Bridge Home" by Padma Venkatraman
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.
