garnish

1 of 2

verb

gar·​nish ˈgär-nish How to pronounce garnish (audio)
garnished; garnishing; garnishes

transitive verb

1
b
: to add decorative or savory touches to (food or drink)
garnished the fish with parsley leaves
2
: to equip with accessories : furnish
3

garnish

2 of 2

noun

1
2
: something (such as lemon wedges or parsley) used to decorate or flavor food or drink
3
a
: an unauthorized fee formerly extorted from a new inmate of an English jail
b
: a similar payment required of a new worker

Did you know?

Although we now mostly garnish food, the general application of the "decorate" sense is older. The link between embellishing an object or space and adding a little parsley to a plate is not too hard to see, but how does the sense relating to debtors' wages fit in? The answer lies in the word's Anglo-French root, garnir, which has various meanings including "to give notice or legal summons" and "to decorate." Before wages were garnished, the debtor would be served with a legal summons or warning. The legal sense of garnish now focuses on the taking of the wages, but it is rooted in the action of furnishing the warning.

Choose the Right Synonym for garnish

adorn, decorate, ornament, embellish, beautify, deck, garnish mean to enhance the appearance of something by adding something unessential.

adorn implies an enhancing by something beautiful in itself.

a diamond necklace adorned her neck

decorate suggests relieving plainness or monotony by adding beauty of color or design.

decorate a birthday cake

ornament and embellish imply the adding of something extraneous, ornament stressing the heightening or setting off of the original

a white house ornamented with green shutters

, embellish often stressing the adding of superfluous or adventitious ornament.

embellish a page with floral borders

beautify adds to embellish a suggestion of counterbalancing plainness or ugliness.

will beautify the grounds with flower beds

deck implies the addition of something that contributes to gaiety, splendor, or showiness.

a house all decked out for Christmas

garnish suggests decorating with a small final touch and is used especially in referring to the serving of food.

an entrée garnished with parsley

Examples of garnish in a Sentence

Verb Chocolate curls garnished the cake. a chef who never served any dish without first garnishing it Noun added a garnish of parsley to the plate before serving it
Recent Examples on the Web
Verb
Legally, Trump would face the same consequences as any American refusing to pay a legal judgment, including the possibility of having his assets seized and his wages garnished. Jake Offenhartz, Fortune, 17 Feb. 2024 Gibson Martini This variation of a martini, is essentially a classic gin martini but garnished with a pickled onion instead of using citrus or an olive. Jillian Dara, Forbes, 16 Feb. 2024 In other states, more than half of prisoners’ wages are often garnished to pay for things like room and board and court fees. Angela L. Pagán / The Takeout, Quartz, 16 Feb. 2024 Our homemade orange-sour cream cupcakes taste even better when garnished with lemon frosting. Sarah Martens, Better Homes & Gardens, 14 Feb. 2024 His car was repossessed and his wages were garnished to pay student loan debt. Emily Opilo, Baltimore Sun, 10 Feb. 2024 Next visit, the spread, garnished with a jolt of dehydrated Korean chiles, is good to the last swipe of a cucumber slice or potato chip. Tom Sietsema, Washington Post, 24 Jan. 2024 The drink is garnished with fresh lime zest and a sprinkle of whole pink peppercorns. Aly Walansky, Forbes, 17 Feb. 2024 Order the restaurant’s signature dry, 5-finger Martini, a delicious concoction made with two kinds of sherry and blanc vermouth, garnished with three plump olives on a thin skewer. Usa Today Network, USA TODAY, 15 Feb. 2024
Noun
The chain has reportedly released a new espresso drink in China to celebrate the start of the Lunar New Year that also includes pork sauce and a garnish of pork breast meat. Chris Morris, Fortune, 20 Feb. 2024 The bean paste perfectly ties together the crisp rice crackers and garnishes that include seeds, micro greens and flower petals. Liz Schubauer, USA TODAY, 15 Feb. 2024 Set out fruit juices and garnishes of fresh fruit and mint so guests can customize their drinks. Lisa Cericola, Southern Living, 5 Feb. 2024 Drizzle sauce over rice and garnish with fresh cilantro and black pepper. Cathy Thomas, Orange County Register, 30 Jan. 2024 Pour into a serving cup and garnish with a sprig of fresh rosemary. Jenna Prestininzi, Detroit Free Press, 26 Jan. 2024 While there are many variations of the margarita, a classic margarita consists of blanco tequila, orange liqueur, lime juice and a lime wedge for garnish. Grace Tucker, The Enquirer, 23 Feb. 2024 The drink combines Dongpo Braised Pork Flavor Sauce with espresso and steamed milk, with extra pork sauce and pork breast meat for garnish, according to the Starbucks delivery app. Jessie Yeung, CNN, 20 Feb. 2024 Damon awkwardly sips his coffee — complete with skewered Munchkin garnishes. Antonia Debianchi, Peoplemag, 12 Feb. 2024

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'garnish.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

Word History

Etymology

Verb

Middle English garnishen "to equip, decorate," borrowed from Anglo-French garniss-, present stem of garnir, warnir "to give notice, warn, instruct, give legal summons, provide (for), equip, trim, decorate," going back to Old Low Franconian *warnjan-, variant or reduction of West Germanic *warnōjan- "to make aware" — more at warn

Noun

derivative of garnish entry 1

First Known Use

Verb

14th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1a

Noun

1596, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Time Traveler
The first known use of garnish was in the 14th century

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Dictionary Entries Near garnish

Cite this Entry

“Garnish.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/garnish. Accessed 19 Mar. 2024.

Kids Definition

garnish

verb
gar·​nish
ˈgär-nish
1
2
: to add decorations or seasonings to (food)
3
garnish noun
garnishment
-mənt
noun

Legal Definition

garnish

transitive verb
gar·​nish ˈgär-nish How to pronounce garnish (audio)
1
: to subject (property or money) to garnishment
2
: to seek satisfaction of (a debt) through garnishment compare attach, levy
Etymology

Transitive verb

Anglo-French garniss-, stem of garnir to garnish, give legal summons, warn, from Old French, of Germanic origin; akin to Old High German warnōn to take heed

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