garter
noun
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.
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garter
American
[gahr-ter]
/ ˈgɑr tər /
noun
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garters
plural
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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.
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a similar band worn to hold up a shirt sleeve.
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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.
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British.
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the badge of the Order of the Garter.
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membership in the Order.
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(initial capital letter) the Order itself.
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(usually initial capital letter) a member of the Order.
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verb (used with object)
garter
1
British
/ ˈɡɑːtə /
noun
-
a band, usually of elastic, worn round the arm or leg to hold up a shirtsleeve, sock, or stocking
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an elastic strap attached to a belt or corset having a fastener at the end, for holding up women's stockings
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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
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See gut
verb
Garter
2
British
/ ˈɡɑːtə /
noun
-
(sometimes not capital)
-
the badge of this Order
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membership of this Order
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Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Etymology
Origin of garter
1300–50; Middle English < Old North French gartier, derivative of garet the bend of the knee < Celtic; compare Welsh gar shank, Breton gâr leg
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:
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
“No,” Tansy said, “Alice’s favorite pet is a little green garter snake that lives in her purse.”
From "The Teacher’s Funeral" by Richard Peck
On Monday, she was seen smiling and joking with other royals during the Order of the Garter service, a year after missing the event while receiving cancer treatment.
From BBC ● Jun. 17, 2026
The honours of Order of the Garter and Knight Grand Cross of the Victorian Order will also be removed - and he will no longer have the right to be called His Royal Highness.
From BBC ● Oct. 31, 2025
Andrew will also lose his Order of the Garter, the most senior knighthood in the British realm.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 30, 2025
The flag, linked to his membership of the Order of the Garter, which the prince gave up last week, was on display inside St George's Chapel but is no longer hanging there.
From BBC ● Oct. 24, 2025
Garter Dixon and Dallas Llewellyn are getting angry.
From "Liar & Spy" by Rebecca Stead
Every star who has taken up the character’s corset and garters since has followed his lead.
From Salon ● Aug. 26, 2026
Men could wear blouses and shirts on the outside, while women could do away with their corsets, stockings, and garters.
From National Geographic ● Jan. 9, 2024
Elasticized waistbands, knee-high socks and garters, painted a picture of comfortable chic.
From Seattle Times ● Jun. 24, 2023
But a Suffering Bastard or a Zombie doesn’t belong in a dark, speakeasy-inspired space, fussed over by an exacting bartender wearing arm garters.
From Washington Post ● Jul. 24, 2019
I had never heard this before and wondered what garters were.
From "The London Eye Mystery" by Siobhan Dowd
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.
