gatherer

American  

[gath-er-er] / ˈgæð ər ər /

noun

1. a person or thing that collects, brings together, or accumulates.

   The artist acts as both gatherer and creator, collecting vintage artifacts and orchestrating them into open-ended narratives.

   The data gatherers are to inquire about product safety, potential drug interactions, cost, and efficacy.

2. a person who comes together with others.

   In Black churches throughout the South, gatherers celebrated “Watch Night” on December 31, 1862, counting down to the moment when the Emancipation Proclamation would take effect.

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Etymology

Origin of gatherer

gather ( def. ) + -er ¹ ( def. )

Example Sentences

In Indonesia, the growing exploitation of nickel to meet surging demand for electric vehicle batteries is endangering the nomadic hunter gatherer people of the Hongana Manyawa community, the report said.

From Barron's • Oct. 27, 2025

That sort of growth helped transform Blackstone from depending on striking deals for the majority of its fees to becoming an asset gatherer that can charge management fees on funds it oversees.

From New York Times • Jul. 20, 2023

What we know or guess about these populations comes from both archaeological work and observations of the few modern hunter- gatherer societies that remain.

From Textbooks • Apr. 19, 2023

In one audio recording, an unidentified signature gatherer tells a man that California recently “allowed the drilling of old pumps” a quarter mile away from schools.

From Los Angeles Times • Feb. 8, 2023

A gatherer took my penny and I shuffled on, jostled from this side and that, until I bumped up against an unmoving mass of spectators.

From "The Shakespeare Stealer" by Gary L. Blackwood

Related Words

• connoisseur
• hobbyist