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gather

[gath-er]
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SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR gather ON THESAURUS.COM

verb (used with object)

verb (used without object)

noun

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RELATED WORDS

huddle, crowd, cluster, pick, draw, converge, collect, congregate, choose, convene, assemble, meet, flock, conclude, make, hear, expect, learn, find, take

Idioms

    be gathered to one's fathers, to die.

Origin of gather

before 900; Middle English gaderen, Old English gaderian, derivative of geador together, akin to gæd fellowship; cf. together, good
Related formsgath·er·a·ble, adjectivegath·er·er, nounpre·gath·er, verb (used without object)re·gath·er, verbun·gath·ered, adjectivewell-gath·ered, adjective

Synonyms for gather

SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR gather ON THESAURUS.COM
1, 2. accumulate, amass, garner, hoard. 4. pluck, crop, reap, glean, garner. 11. assume, understand. 20. accrete.

Synonym study

1, 2. Gather, assemble, collect, muster, marshal imply bringing or drawing together. Gather expresses the general idea usually with no implication of arrangement: to gather seashells. Assemble is used of objects or facts brought together preparatory to arranging them: to assemble data for a report. Collect implies purposeful accumulation to form an ordered whole: to collect evidence. Muster, primarily a military term, suggests thoroughness in the process of collection: to muster all one's resources. Marshal, another term primarily military, suggests rigorously ordered, purposeful arrangement: to marshal facts for effective presentation.

Antonyms for gather

1, 19. separate, disperse.
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Examples from the Web for gather

Contemporary Examples of gather

Historical Examples of gather

  • She longed so to gather them all to herself, and take them home, and make a Christmas for them!

    Faith Gartney's Girlhood

    Mrs. A. D. T. Whitney

  • From what I could gather from the 'Custos,' I should say that they are now but little frequented.

    Herzegovina

    George Arbuthnot

  • And of course they all have to gather round and watch me close, as if I was about to pull some miracle.

  • He was tame until the shadows began to gather and the sun went down.

    The Wolf's Long Howl

    Stanley Waterloo

  • They gather round the spot where the tin stood and peer into the ground, as though some sprite had bewitched it into the earth.

British Dictionary definitions for gather

gather

verb

to assemble or cause to assemble
to collect or be collected gradually; muster
(tr) to learn from information given; conclude or assume
(tr) to pick or harvest (flowers, fruit, etc)
(tr; foll by to or into) to clasp or embracethe mother gathered the child into her arms
(tr) to bring close (to) or wrap (around)she gathered her shawl about her shoulders
to increase or cause to increase gradually, as in force, speed, intensity, etc
to contract (the brow) or (of the brow) to become contracted into wrinkles; knit
(tr) to assemble (sections of a book) in the correct sequence for binding
(tr) to collect by making a selection
(tr) to prepare or make readyto gather one's wits
to draw (material) into a series of small tucks or folds by passing a thread through it and then pulling it tight
(intr) (of a boil or other sore) to come to a head; form pus

noun

  1. the act of gathering
  2. the amount gathered
a small fold in material, as made by a tightly pulled stitch; tuck
printing an informal name for section (def. 17)
Derived Formsgatherable, adjectivegatherer, noun

Word Origin for gather

Old English gadrian; related to Old Frisian gaderia, Middle Low German gaderen
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012
Word Origin and History for gather
v.

Old English gadrian, gædrian "unite, agree, assemble; gather, collect, store up," used of flowers, thoughts, persons; from Proto-Germanic *gadurojan "bring together, unite" (cf. Old English gæd "fellowship, companionship," gædeling "companion;" Middle Low German gadderen; Old Frisian gaderia; Dutch gaderen "to gather," gade "spouse;" German Gatte "husband;" Gothic gadiliggs), from PIE *ghedh- "to unite, join" (see good (adj.). Change of spelling from -d- to -th- is 1500s, reflecting earlier change in pronunciation. Related: Gathered; gathering.

Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper
Idioms and Phrases with gather

gather

see rolling stone gathers no moss.

The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary Copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.