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• garland
  garland

  noun

  a wreath or festoon of flowers, leaves, or other material, worn for ornament or as an honor or hung on something as a decoration.
• Garland
  Garland

  noun

  Hamlin 1860–1940, U.S. novelist, short-story writer, and poet.

garland

¹ American  

[gahr-luhnd] / ˈgɑr lənd /

noun

• garlands
  plural

1. a wreath or festoon of flowers, leaves, or other material, worn for ornament or as an honor or hung on something as a decoration.

   A garland of laurel was placed on the winner's head.

2. a representation of such a wreath or festoon.

3. a collection of short literary pieces, as poems and ballads; literary miscellany.

4. Nautical. a band, collar, or grommet, as of rope.

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verb (used with object)

• garlands,
  present (3rd person singular)
• garlanded,
  past participle,  past
• garlanding
  present participle

1. to crown with a garland; deck with garlands.

Garland ² American  

[gahr-luhnd] / ˈgɑr lənd /

noun

1. Hamlin 1860–1940, U.S. novelist, short-story writer, and poet.

2. Judy Frances Gumm, 1922–69, U.S. singer and actress.

3. a city in NE Texas, near Dallas.

4. a male or female given name.

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garland ¹ British  

/ ˈɡɑːlənd /

noun

1. a wreath or festoon of flowers, leaves, etc, worn round the head or neck or hung up

2. a representation of such a wreath, as in painting, sculpture, etc

3. a collection of short literary pieces, such as ballads or poems; miscellany or anthology

4. nautical a ring or grommet of rope

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verb

1. (tr) to deck or adorn with a garland or garlands

Garland ² British  

/ ˈɡɑːlənd /

noun

1. Judy, real name Frances Gumm. 1922–69, US singer and film actress. Already a child star, she achieved international fame with The Wizard of Oz (1939). Later films included Meet Me in St Louis (1944) and A Star is Born (1954)

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Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• ungarland
  verb (used with object)
• garlandless
  adjective
• garlandlike
  adjective

Inflected Forms

Nouns

• garlands
  plural

Participles

• garlanding
  present
• garlanded
  past

Conjugated Forms

Present

• garland
  simple
• garlands
  simple
• have garlanded
  perfect
• has garlanded
  perfect
• am garlanding
  progressive
• are garlanding
  progressive
• is garlanding
  progressive
• have been garlanding
  perfect progressive
• has been garlanding
  perfect progressive

Past

• garlanded
  simple
• had garlanded
  perfect
• was garlanding
  progressive
• were garlanding
  progressive
• had been garlanding
  perfect progressive

Future

• will garland
  simple
• will have garlanded
  perfect
• will be garlanding
  progressive
• will have been garlanding
  perfect progressive

Etymology

Origin of garland

1275–1325; Middle English ger ( e ) lande, garlande < Old French < ?

Explanation

A garland is a circular arrangement of flowers, worn or hung for decoration. Think of the strings of pine and holly people hang at holiday time, or the ring of roses they put around the Kentucky Derby winner's neck. First recorded circa 1300, the word garland in the simplest terms means a circle of flowers or other greenery. Hawaiian leis are a type of garland, as are holiday wreaths and the little flower crowns that flower girls wear at weddings. If you want to get spiritual about garlands, you can refer back to this Buddha quote: "Fashion your life as a garland of beautiful deeds."

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

garland Garland garlands garlanded garlanding

Unlike the soft, pliable versions of the Christ child in his early Madonnas, this is a monumental, muscular putto, using his strength to hold that garland aloft.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Mar. 24, 2026

“If you had a tree or some garland with 1,000 lights, it might have 800. Things will just get watered down, and so you will be paying the same, if not more, for less.”

From MarketWatch ● Jan. 8, 2026

When fall rolls around, they loop a simple garland of leaves around the bar—nothing fancy, just a whisper of the season.

From Salon ● Nov. 25, 2025

The image featured a smiling couple in formal attire under a clip art–style garland holding various baby-themed items, along with an email and phone number where I could reach them.

From Slate ● Jul. 16, 2025

Together, they made a garland of pinecones and chicken feathers, so pretty that Mama decided then and there that they had just created a new holiday tradition.

From "Stella by Starlight" by Sharon M. Draper

“It is time to break up Live Nation-Ticketmaster,” then-Attorney General Merrick Garland said when the lawsuit was filed.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 24, 2026

But interestingly it was actually written and directed by a British film-maker, Alex Garland, and he expressed worries about his home country, as well as the US.

From BBC ● Jul. 20, 2026

Wagler is expected to pair immediately with All-Star guard Darius Garland with the Clippers trying to win their first playoff series since 2021.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 25, 2026

“Everyone I know is holding on to whatever job they have,” said Erika Oberhansley, an office manager in Garland, Texas, who has been in the same role for seven years.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 1, 2026

I looked around Garland, and in my heart, I knew it was the best place for me.

From "Schooled" by Gordon Korman

For the last year, “Gracias Gustavo” garlands have adorned the city, thanking Dudamel for doing just that during his 17 seasons heading the L.A.

From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 26, 2026

"Decorative lighting, garlands are not a priority," Prime Minister Yulia Svyrydenko said in early December, instructing citizens to reduce unnecessary consumption.

From Barron's ● Dec. 23, 2025

There are also many things it isn’t: no bright green garlands, no mixing of plaids in the same room, and no gift bags under the tree.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Dec. 22, 2025

The 50p decorations started what became a two-month endeavour, looking for retro baubles, garlands, and anything she could find to recreate those special years growing up in the '90s.

From BBC ● Dec. 20, 2025

There was a delicious pine smell, too, from the Christmas garlands that were hung all down the hall.

From "The Marvels" by Brian Selznick

She hit the buzzer at the first high chain-link fence, which was garlanded with a spool of razor wire atop.

From Slate ● May 2, 2025

He was garlanded with praise from the prime minister down for what was seen as a brave act of statesmanship.

From BBC ● Mar. 29, 2024

They had been released in 2022, when they were garlanded with flowers by their families and a lawmaker from Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s governing Bharatiya Janata Party.

From Seattle Times ● Mar. 5, 2024

They have the pulpy verve of Harlem’s crime fiction godfather, Chester Himes, combined with the literary heft of Whitehead’s more garlanded novels.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 12, 2023

There will be a big wedding where Kareem rides in on a white horse and I will be garlanded in gold and roses and jasmine.

From "Love, Hate & Other Filters" by Samira Ahmed

The village headman summoned her and said that by garlanding Nehru, she had become his bride.

From BBC ● Dec. 13, 2023

They hung a poster for Ms. Leiker amid the photos and flowers garlanding a security fence outside the shuttered King Soopers.

From New York Times ● Apr. 9, 2021

And in 105- degree heat, hundreds of well-wishers leaned out from balconies, snapped photos and pushed forward to greet him, garlanding him with marigolds, pelting him with flower petals and offering sweets.

From Washington Post ● May 27, 2015

Photograph: Allstar/Universal Pictures; David James; Allstar After indulging Europe by garlanding The Artist last year and The King's Speech in 2011, the Oscars seem set to come home.

From The Guardian ● Feb. 21, 2013

On another wall was a framed photograph of Comrade Pillai garlanding Comrade E. M. S. Namboodiripad.

From "The God of Small Things" by Arundhati Roy

Related Words

• wreath