gather

[gath-er]

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SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR gather 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.

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

Related Words for gatherer

connoisseur, hobbyist, fancier, authority, antiquarian, finder, antiquary, accumulator, compiler, collector, squirrel, hoarder, magpie, saver

Examples from the Web for gatherer

Contemporary Examples of gatherer

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
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

Historical Examples of gatherer

Thou knowest, also, amigo Rafael, that I have been a gatherer of curios.
Cabbages and Kings
O. Henry
Oh, might she but see him return to the Gatherer of the wandering sheep!
Frank Oldfield
T.P. Wilson
But now comes in the duty of the "gatherer," the third man of the group.
The Indians of the Painted Desert Region
George Wharton James
One of the prophets said he was "a gatherer of sycamore fruit."
Letters from Palestine
J. D. Paxton
The appearance of the "Gatherer" aroused attention in Christian circles.
History of the Jews, Vol. V (of 6)
Heinrich Graetz

British Dictionary definitions for gatherer

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

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 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 gatherer

c.1200, agent noun from gather.

gather

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.

Idioms and Phrases with gatherer

gather

see rolling stone gathers no moss.