British, sock suspender, suspender. an article of clothing for holding up a stocking or sock, usually an elastic band around the leg or an elastic strap hanging from a girdle or other undergarment.
a similar band worn to hold up a shirt sleeve.
a leather strap for passing through a loop at the back of a boot and buckling around the leg to keep the boot from slipping.
British.
the badge of the Order of the Garter.
membership in the Order.
(initial capital letter) the Order itself.
(usually initial capital letter) a member of the Order.
a band, usually of elastic, worn round the arm or leg to hold up a shirtsleeve, sock, or stocking
an elastic strap attached to a belt or corset having a fastener at the end, for holding up women's stockings
Also called (in Britain and certain other countries): suspender. a similar fastener attached to a garter belt worn by men in order to support socks
See gut
(sometimes not capital)
the badge of this Order
membership of this Order
1300–50; Middle English < Old North French gartier, derivative of garet the bend of the knee < Celtic; compare Welsh gar shank, Breton gâr leg
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
When mice invaded his house, he didn’t poison them but enlisted the help of a garter snake he found outside.
From The Wall Street Journal • Oct. 30, 2025
“There was a lot of discontentment from people feeling pressure to do things they didn’t want, like the garter toss, or who had family members trying to make the event about them,” Mae recalls.
From Los Angeles Times • Jun. 6, 2025
The decision led not only to new habitat for the area’s endangered garter snake and threatened red-legged frog, but also a bike path alongside the creek for humans to enjoy.
From Slate • May 26, 2025
For the first time, researchers — employing an innovative twist on the mirror test — have found evidence that garter snakes can distinguish themselves from others, using not sight but scent.
From New York Times • Apr. 3, 2024
I jumped up, terrified, and she said, “No no, God, it’s just a garter snake.”
From "Paper Towns" by John Green
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.
