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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

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Etymology

Origin of garland

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

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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

“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

This year, for the first time, Pons is also trying to create a more festive atmosphere inside the store with holiday decorations, such as a garland at the checkout desk.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Dec. 6, 2025

She proceeded to a second tall fence with razor-wire garland and a second buzzer.

From Slate ● May 2, 2025

However, if they then garland them, I think the council needs to explain to them it's not their own and it's still the council's property and can't be used as a memorial with anything extra.

From BBC ● Mar. 26, 2024

He cut off a length—about three-quarters of a yard—wound it into a sort of garland, and wrapped it up first in white and then in brown paper.

From "Mary Poppins" by P. L. Travers

Now fully recovered from a foot injury, two-time All-Star guard Darius Garland will be counted on to provide floor leadership.

From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 19, 2026

In a tribute to the beloved bar, The Times’ Chad Garland wrote in 2014:

From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 1, 2026

“Your plan to reach out publicly about your story, which necessarily includes your involvement with the Manson family, would bring notoriety and glorification to that,” said Parole Board Commissioner Julie Garland.

From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 14, 2026

Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of New York and the Justice Department, working for then-attorney general and deputy attorney general Janet Reno and Merrick Garland.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 28, 2026

But to people outside Garland, money was so desirable that the bank had to hire armed guards to keep criminals from stealing it.

From "Schooled" by Gordon Korman

Relatives also visited the blackened bar on Tuesday morning, laying garlands and praying for the dead, AFP reporters saw.

From Barron's ● Jul. 14, 2026

But this year, her living room is an explosion of colour, bedecked with foil stars, tinsel and homemade paper chains and ribbon garlands.

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

Avery Colvert, who founded Altadena Girls in January as a 14-year-old, hung garlands and decorations around the 12,000-square-foot complex, beaming that what she’d built was at last open to the world.

From Los Angeles Times ● Dec. 11, 2025

Its gold garlands and sparkling jewels advertised the promise of a desert world.

From "The Marvellers" by Dhonielle Clayton

From east to west, north to south, L.A. was garlanded with banners that read “¡Bienvenido Gustavo!”

From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 26, 2026

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

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

They could be seen garlanding the workers, embracing them and giving them sweets.

From BBC ● Nov. 29, 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

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