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

According to multiple reports, the couple held an intimate ceremony in Florida before planning a separate gathering on a private island in the Bahamas.

From Salon • May 23, 2026

One late night host who did not join the gathering of funnymen who pillory the US president night after night was Greg Gutfeld, host of "Gutfeld!" on Fox News -- the network popular with conservatives.

From Barron's • May 21, 2026

The current know-your-customer rules don’t require the gathering of citizenship status specifically, and banks don’t routinely share that information with the government.

From The Wall Street Journal • May 19, 2026

Moncrieff said forensic teams spent 14 months at the site gathering evidence and have since examined material linked to hundreds of companies and thousands of individuals, as well as evidence from the public inquiry.

From BBC • May 19, 2026

Perhaps she walked this road often, gathering rubbish.

From "The Undead Fox of Deadwood Forest" by Aubrey Hartman

Related Words

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