garland
noun
a wreath or festoon of flowers, leaves, or other material, worn for ornament or as an honor or hung on something as a decoration.
garland
1 American
[gahr-luhnd]
/ ˈgɑr lənd /
noun
-
garlands
plural
-
a wreath or festoon of flowers, leaves, or other material, worn for ornament or as an honor or hung on something as a decoration.
A garland of laurel was placed on the winner's head.
-
a representation of such a wreath or festoon.
-
a collection of short literary pieces, as poems and ballads; literary miscellany.
-
Nautical. a band, collar, or grommet, as of rope.
verb (used with object)
-
garlands,
present (3rd person singular)
-
garlanded,
past participle, past
-
garlanding
present participle
Garland
2
American
[gahr-luhnd]
/ ˈgɑr lənd /
noun
-
Hamlin 1860–1940, U.S. novelist, short-story writer, and poet.
-
Judy Frances Gumm, 1922–69, U.S. singer and actress.
-
a city in NE Texas, near Dallas.
-
a male or female given name.
garland
1
British
/ ˈɡɑːlənd /
noun
-
a wreath or festoon of flowers, leaves, etc, worn round the head or neck or hung up
-
a representation of such a wreath, as in painting, sculpture, etc
-
a collection of short literary pieces, such as ballads or poems; miscellany or anthology
-
nautical a ring or grommet of rope
verb
Garland
2
British
/ ˈɡɑːlənd /
noun
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
-
garlandsimple
-
garlandssimple
-
have garlandedperfect
-
has garlandedperfect
-
am garlandingprogressive
-
are garlandingprogressive
-
is garlandingprogressive
-
have been garlandingperfect progressive
-
has been garlandingperfect progressive
Past
-
garlandedsimple
-
had garlandedperfect
-
was garlandingprogressive
-
were garlandingprogressive
-
had been garlandingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of garland
1275–1325; Middle English ger ( e ) lande, garlande < Old French < ?
Explanation
A garland is a circular arrangement of flowers, worn or hung for decoration. Think of the strings of pine and holly people hang at holiday time, or the ring of roses they put around the Kentucky Derby winner's neck. First recorded circa 1300, the word garland in the simplest terms means a circle of flowers or other greenery. Hawaiian leis are a type of garland, as are holiday wreaths and the little flower crowns that flower girls wear at weddings. If you want to get spiritual about garlands, you can refer back to this Buddha quote: "Fashion your life as a garland of beautiful deeds."
Vocabulary lists containing garland
Forged by Fire
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"To an Athlete Dying Young" by A. E. Housman
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Tolkien Reading Day, List 9
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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:
“If you had a tree or some garland with 1,000 lights, it might have 800. Things will just get watered down, and so you will be paying the same, if not more, for less.”
From MarketWatch ● Jan. 8, 2026
This year, for the first time, Pons is also trying to create a more festive atmosphere inside the store with holiday decorations, such as a garland at the checkout desk.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Dec. 6, 2025
She proceeded to a second tall fence with razor-wire garland and a second buzzer.
From Slate ● May 2, 2025
One group of ash-smeared men, some naked and some dressed in just loin cloth or marigold garland draped around their necks, marched in holding tridents, swords and small two-headed drums.
From BBC ● Jan. 12, 2025
And a long garland of flowers, draped over her elbows like a feather boa.
From "The Season of Styx Malone" by Kekla Magoon
He is also fresh-faced, because he’s filming the Alex Garland film “Elden Ring” in London during his downtime.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 6, 2026
The Clippers, who added former All-Star Darius Garland last year in a midseason trade, had options for a trade at the coveted No. 5 spot.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 24, 2026
With that, “Hacks” goes out on a Seinfeldian high note, cutting to Deborah and Ava happily strolling the Vegas strip on a sun-soaked day as a Barbra Streisand-Judy Garland duet lilts behind them.
From Salon ● May 29, 2026
It will feature music from the likes of Judy Garland and Dame Shirley Bassey.
From BBC ● May 13, 2026
“Besides,” she went on, her eyes twinkling, “some incredible things have been happening in the real estate market since the sixties. I just sold Garland for seventeen million dollars.”
From "Schooled" by Gordon Korman
Marigold garlands and a wreath were placed on top.
From BBC ● Jan. 26, 2026
"Decorative lighting, garlands are not a priority," Prime Minister Yulia Svyrydenko said in early December, instructing citizens to reduce unnecessary consumption.
From Barron's ● Dec. 23, 2025
And the extras that people load up on when they are feeling flush, such as wreaths and garlands and baskets, haven’t been selling well at all.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Dec. 19, 2025
Avery Colvert, who founded Altadena Girls in January as a 14-year-old, hung garlands and decorations around the 12,000-square-foot complex, beaming that what she’d built was at last open to the world.
From Los Angeles Times ● Dec. 11, 2025
Bending over the glass, I stared around Saint Cecilia at the organ and all the painted angels and flower garlands to see if something of Grandpa would stare back at me.
From "Cold Sassy Tree" by Olive Ann Burns
She hit the buzzer at the first high chain-link fence, which was garlanded with a spool of razor wire atop.
From Slate ● May 2, 2025
They had been released in 2022, when they were garlanded with flowers by their families and a lawmaker from Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s governing Bharatiya Janata Party.
From Seattle Times ● Mar. 5, 2024
They have the pulpy verve of Harlem’s crime fiction godfather, Chester Himes, combined with the literary heft of Whitehead’s more garlanded novels.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 12, 2023
Thankfully, she was still able to finish her show before the strict 22:30 curfew, leaving fans with a blissful version of Video Games performed on a garlanded swing suspended from the rafters of the stage.
From BBC ● Jul. 10, 2023
Cabin two was more graceful somehow, with slimmer columns garlanded with pomegranates and flowers.
From "The Lightning Thief" by Rick Riordan
The village headman summoned her and said that by garlanding Nehru, she had become his bride.
From BBC ● Dec. 13, 2023
And in 105- degree heat, hundreds of well-wishers leaned out from balconies, snapped photos and pushed forward to greet him, garlanding him with marigolds, pelting him with flower petals and offering sweets.
From Washington Post ● May 27, 2015
In between, the bridges to Brooklyn, garlanding the river with lights like diamond necklaces.
From New York Times ● Aug. 26, 2013
Photograph: Allstar/Universal Pictures; David James; Allstar After indulging Europe by garlanding The Artist last year and The King's Speech in 2011, the Oscars seem set to come home.
From The Guardian ● Feb. 21, 2013
On another wall was a framed photograph of Comrade Pillai garlanding Comrade E. M. S. Namboodiripad.
From "The God of Small Things" by Arundhati Roy
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.
