gathering

American  

[gath-er-ing] / ˈgæð ər ɪŋ /

noun

1. an assembly or meeting.

   Synonyms:

   assemblage

2. an assemblage of people; group or crowd.

   Synonyms:

   throng, company, concourse, congregation

3. a collection, assemblage, or compilation of anything.

4. the act of a person or thing that gathers.

5. something that is gathered together.

6. a gather or a series of gathers in cloth.

7. an inflamed and suppurating swelling.

   Synonyms:

   carbuncle, abscess, boil

8. (in a flue, duct, or the like) a tapered section forming a transition between two sections, one of which has a greater area than the other.

9. Bookbinding. a section in a book, usually a sheet cut into several leaves.

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gathering British  

/ ˈɡæðərɪŋ /

noun

1. a group of people, things, etc, that are gathered together; assembly

2. sewing a gather or series of gathers in material

3. 1. the formation of pus in a boil

   2. the pus so formed

4. printing an informal name for section

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Etymology

Origin of gathering

First recorded before 900; Middle English gaderinge, Old English gaderunge; equivalent to gather + -ing ¹

Example Sentences

The following year, the State Department renamed the gathering after a now-retired U.S. nuclear physicist who helped advise the Iran deal negotiations.

From Slate • May 1, 2026

"Coalitions of the willing are already forging ahead," Stiell said, pointing to the gathering in Colombia.

From Barron's • Apr. 30, 2026

“You’re all deadly competitors,” Charles joked to a small roundtable gathering that included Amazon founder Jeff Bezos and Apple’s Tim Cook.

From The Wall Street Journal • Apr. 30, 2026

The U.S. economy rebounded to a solid 2% annual growth rate in the first quarter after a tepid 0.5% growth rate in the prior quarter, as the artificial-intelligence spending boom appears to be gathering steam.

From MarketWatch • Apr. 30, 2026

But all the words she was gathering to say suddenly felt worthless.

From "The School for Whatnots" by Margaret Peterson Haddix

Related Words

• association
• caucus
• collection
• conclave
• conference
• congregation
• convention
• crowd
• function
• group
• mass
• meeting
• party
• throng