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.
a representation of such a wreath or festoon.
a collection of short literary pieces, as poems and ballads; literary miscellany.
Nautical. a band, collar, or grommet, as of rope.
Hamlin 1860–1940, U.S. novelist, short-story writer, and poet.
Judy Frances Gumm, 1922–69, U.S. singer and actress.
a city in NE Texas, near Dallas.
a male or female given name.
a wreath or festoon of flowers, leaves, etc, worn round the head or neck or hung up
a representation of such a wreath, as in painting, sculpture, etc
a collection of short literary pieces, such as ballads or poems; miscellany or anthology
nautical a ring or grommet of rope
1275–1325; Middle English ger ( e ) lande, garlande < Old French < ?
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."
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Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
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
Or why spend $30 on a holiday garland when you could make something similar out of shopping-bag cardboard?
From Slate ● Feb. 15, 2025
Around her neck I placed a garland of aromatic fennel stalks, their flat golden blooms woven with drooping columbines.
From "Ophelia" by Lisa Klein
The Clippers, who added former All-Star Darius Garland last year in a midseason trade, had options for a trade at the coveted No. 5 spot.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 24, 2026
With that, “Hacks” goes out on a Seinfeldian high note, cutting to Deborah and Ava happily strolling the Vegas strip on a sun-soaked day as a Barbra Streisand-Judy Garland duet lilts behind them.
From Salon ● May 29, 2026
It will feature music from the likes of Judy Garland and Dame Shirley Bassey.
From BBC ● May 13, 2026
The traditional folk song “Billy Boy” was first transformed into modern jazz by Ahmad Jamal in 1952, and that arrangement was also played by Red Garland.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Apr. 29, 2026
I was the one who had been born and raised at Garland; Rain grew up in San Francisco.
From "Schooled" by Gordon Korman
For the last decade, 55-year-old Ponni has sat on a roadside in Bengaluru, the city known as India's Silicon Valley, making flower garlands.
From Barron's ● Jun. 11, 2026
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
And the extras that people load up on when they are feeling flush, such as wreaths and garlands and baskets, haven’t been selling well at all.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Dec. 19, 2025
He smiled, taking in the Harley bikers parked near the cliffs and the men and women strolling nearby sporting Asir’s traditional garlands made of orange marigold, dill and artemisia, a gray-green plant similar to sage.
From Los Angeles Times ● Nov. 28, 2025
She placed a big basket of extra blooms nearby, so that others could use them to make garlands.
From "Tiger Boy" by Mitali Perkins
As one of Britain's most garlanded actors and directors, his screen credits are extraordinary; Peter's Friends, Shackleton, Wallender and Hercule Poirot.
From BBC ● Sep. 11, 2025
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
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
As mourners sat beside garlanded photo frames of Yash and Raj on Tuesday, Raydhan Bhai pointed to Yash’s pet dog.
From Seattle Times ● Nov. 1, 2022
Cabin two was more graceful somehow, with slimmer columns garlanded with pomegranates and flowers.
From "The Lightning Thief" by Rick Riordan
Networks pay out big salaries to be able to have the most familiar faces, the most famous names and the most compelling characters sit awkwardly around a low-slung table, garlanding the coverage.
From New York Times ● May 17, 2024
The village headman summoned her and said that by garlanding Nehru, she had become his bride.
From BBC ● Dec. 13, 2023
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
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.
