garnishment

American  

[gahr-nish-muhnt] / ˈgɑr nɪʃ mənt /

noun

• garnishments
  plural

1. Law.

   1. a warning, served on a third party to hold, subject to the court's direction, money or property belonging to a debtor who is being sued by a creditor.

   2. a summons to a third party to appear in litigation pending between a creditor and debtor.

2. adornment or decoration.

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garnishment British  

/ ˈɡɑːnɪʃmənt /

noun

1. the act of garnishing

2. decoration or embellishment; garnish

3. law

   1. a notice or warning

   2. obsolete a summons to court proceedings already in progress

   3. a notice warning a person holding money or property belonging to a debtor whose debt has been attached to hold such property until directed by the court to apply it

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Other Word Forms

Noun Inflected Forms

• garnishments
  plural

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Etymology

Origin of garnishment

First recorded in 1540–50; garnish + -ment

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Example Sentences

See Examples For:

garnishment garnishments

Pressley has introduced the Ending Administrative Wage Garnishment Act, which would “protect borrowers by ending garnishment as a tool writ large for student debt collection by the federal government, regardless of who’s in office.”

From Salon ● Mar. 17, 2026

Research by Anthony DeFusco at the University of Wisconsin shows that borrowers typically remain in loan garnishment for only five months.

From Barron's ● Feb. 10, 2026

“Actually there is a pause on that at the moment,” McMahon said in response to a question from a reporter about whether she was concerned wage garnishment would make struggling borrowers’ financial situation worse.

From MarketWatch ● Jan. 16, 2026

But that will likely change starting in 2026, given the Education Department’s announcement that it’s restarting wage garnishment.

From MarketWatch ● Dec. 30, 2025

The Homestead Exemption is as follows: Every householder residing in this State shall, in addition to the property or estate to hold exempt from levy, distress, or garnishment, under ch.

From How to Collect a Doctor Bill by Frank P. Davis

From what I’ve read, bankruptcy is generally intended for more severe financial situations involving lawsuits, wage garnishments or collection actions.

From MarketWatch ● Jul. 17, 2026

The department has since reversed course, delaying the garnishments.

From Barron's ● Feb. 10, 2026

And if you owe state taxes, you could face additional collections and garnishments.

From Seattle Times ● Jan. 23, 2024

Still, researchers told ProPublica that they identified at least 16 institutions that pursued lawsuits, wage garnishments and liens against their patients in the first seven months of 2020.

From Salon ● Jun. 14, 2021

For that reason we boys lost interest in the man as well as his garnishments.

From Reveries of a Schoolmaster by Francis B. Pearson

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