gather

[ gath-er ]

/ ˈgæð ər /

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See synonyms for: gather / gathered / gathering / gatherer on Thesaurus.com

verb (used with object)

to bring together into one group, collection, or place: to gather firewood; to gather the troops.

to bring together or assemble from various places, sources, or people; collect gradually: The college is gathering a faculty from all over the country.

to serve as a center of attention for; attract: A good football game always gathers a crowd.

to pick or harvest (any crop or natural yield) from its place of growth or formation: to gather fruit; to gather flowers.

to pick up piece by piece: Gather your toys from the floor.

to pick or scoop up: She gathered the crying child in her arms.

to collect (as taxes, dues, money owed, etc.).

to accumulate; increase: The storm gathers force. The car gathered speed.

to take by selection from among other things; sort out; cull.

to assemble or collect (one's energies or oneself) as for an effort (often followed by up): He gathered up his strength for the hard job.

to learn or conclude from observation; infer; deduce: I gather that he is the real leader.

to wrap or draw around or close: He gathered his scarf around his neck.

to contract (the brow) into wrinkles.

to draw (cloth) up on a thread in fine folds or puckers by means of even stitches.

Bookbinding. to assemble (the printed sections of a book) in proper sequence for binding.

Nautical. to gain (way) from a dead stop or extremely slow speed.

Metalworking. to increase the sectional area of (stock) by any of various operations.

Glassmaking. to accumulate or collect (molten glass) at the end of a tube for blowing, shaping, etc.

verb (used without object)

to come together around a central point; assemble: Let's gather round the fire and sing.

to collect or accumulate: Clouds were gathering in the northeast.

to grow, as by accretion; increase.

to become contracted into wrinkles, folds, creases, etc., as the brow or as cloth.

to come to a head, as a sore in suppurating.

noun

a drawing together; contraction.

Often gathers. a fold or pucker, as in gathered cloth.

an act or instance of gathering.

an amount or number gathered, as during a harvest.

Glassmaking. a mass of molten glass attached to the end of a punty.

OTHER WORDS FOR gather

1, 2 accumulate, amass, garner, hoard.

4 pluck, crop, reap, glean, garner.

11 assume, understand.

20 accrete.

See synonyms for gather on Thesaurus.com

OPPOSITES FOR gather

1, 19 separate, disperse.

See antonyms for gather on Thesaurus.com

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The rainy weather could not ________ my elated spirits on my graduation day.

affect

effect

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Idioms about gather

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

synonym study for gather

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.

OTHER WORDS FROM gather

gath·er·a·ble, adjectivegath·er·er, nounpre·gath·er, verb (used without object)re·gath·er, verb

un·gath·ered, adjectivewell-gathered, adjective

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2022

How to use gather in a sentence

“I think at that level the acquisitive hunter-gatherer gene influences them more than riches,” Bass said.
Faulkner of Oil Country: Rick Bass Talks New Novel|Jane Ciabattari|August 22, 2013|DAILY BEAST
Should we live like our hunter-gatherer forebears, run barefoot and eat nothing but meat, nuts, and fruit?
Eat Like a Caveman? The Trouble With Paleo Living|Robert Herritt|March 21, 2013|DAILY BEAST
It's easy to cross the line, and you are no longer an observer and a gatherer of facts.
Drug Dealers to the Stars|Christine Pelisek|October 20, 2010|DAILY BEAST
To judge by living hunter-gatherer peoples, these groups would have been fiercely egalitarian, with no head men or chiefs.
The Real Reason for Christmas|Nicholas Wade|December 14, 2009|DAILY BEAST

What matters most though is its core values as a gatherer and interpreter of news.
Stop Picking On the Times|Peter Osnos|December 30, 2008|DAILY BEAST
The tax-gatherer and recruiting officer begin to make their way into the hills.
Encyclopaedia Britannica, 11th Edition, Volume 4, Part 3|Various
Each gentleman may remunerate his gatherer, but the said remuneration shall in each case remain the same.
The Way of a Man|Emerson Hough
It fell, just inside the line, with its head up, and my gatherer pounced upon it like a cat.
The Way of a Man|Emerson Hough
Well, the black tax-gatherer is balked by a day, and the wanderer is back at Ercildoune again.
Sword and Gown|George A. Lawrence
It was the bare cabin of a needy widow who had become involved in a lawsuit through the rapacity of a tax-gatherer.
Kai Lung's Golden Hours|Ernest Bramah

British Dictionary definitions for gather

gather

/ (ˈɡæðə) /

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

the act of gathering
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 forms of gather

gatherable, 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

Other Idioms and Phrases with gather

gather

see rolling stone gathers no moss.

gather

OTHER WORDS FOR gather

OPPOSITES FOR gather

Idioms about gather

Origin of gather

synonym study for gather

OTHER WORDS FROM gather

Words related to gather

How to use gather in a sentence

British Dictionary definitions for gather

Derived forms of gather

Word Origin for gather

Other Idioms and Phrases with gather