gather

1 to bring together in one body or place <he gathered the leftovers from the table and gave them to the dog> <let's gather the students and have them line up on the playground before going in from recess> Synonyms accumulate, amass, assemble, bulk (up), collect, concentrate, congregate, constellate, corral, garner, group, lump, pick up, round up Related Words ball, batch, bunch, cluster, huddle; heap, pile, stack; band, brigade, muster, raise, rally; flock, herd, hive, pack, press, swarm, throng; combine, connect, join, link, merge, pool, unite; archive, arrange, collate, compile, organize, systematize; scrape (up or together); re-collect, regather, regroup Phrases get together Near Antonyms break up, disband, disintegrate, dissolve, separate, sever, split (up); dismiss, send Antonyms dispel, disperse, dissipate, scatter

2 to catch or collect (a crop or natural resource) for human use <late summer is when we gather the tomatoes and begin canning them for the winter> Synonyms harvest, pick, reapRelated Words clam, fish, seal, shrimp, whale; accumulate, forage, garner; glean; cut, hay, mow; bag, capture, hunt, net, snare, trap; crop, grow, raiseNear Antonyms plant, seed, sow

3 to come together into one body or place <a crowd gathered around the street musician> <ask the faculty to gather in the lounge for the meeting> Synonyms cluster, collect, concenter, concentrate, conglomerate, congregate, convene, converge, forgather (or foregather), assemble, meet, rendezvousRelated Words affiliate, ally, associate, band (together), caucus, club, collaborate, confederate, conjoin, consolidate, consort, cooperate, couple, federate, gang up, join, merge, unite; reassemble, reconvene, regather, remeetNear Antonyms depart, leave, take off; disjoin, dissociate, disuniteAntonyms break up, disband, disperse, split (up)

4 to form an opinion or reach a conclusion through reasoning and information <I gather that, since you are back so early, she didn't want to see you?> Synonyms conclude, decide, deduce, derive, extrapolate, infer, judge, make out, reason, understandRelated Words assume, suppose; conjecture, guess, speculate, surmise; construe, interpret, read; contemplate, philosophize, rationalize, think; ascertain, dope (out), find out

5 to gradually form into a layer, pile, or mass <the newspapers that had been allowed to gather on the front doorstep told thieves that the family was away on vacation> Synonyms accrete, accumulate, amass, build up, concentrate, conglomerate, collect, mass, pile (up), stack (up)Related Words agglutinate, clump, lump; bank, drift, ridgeNear Antonyms disperse, dissipate, scatter

6 to gradually increase in <the movement gathered force as election day neared> Synonyms build up, gain, grow (in), pick upRelated Words double (in), triple (in); accrue, accumulate, amass; excite, stimulate; enhance, enlarge, enrich, expand, extend, maximize; boost, elevate, jack (up), mount, ramp (up), step upNear Antonyms abate, decline (in), diminish (in), dip, dwindle, fall (in), lessen, taper, taper offAntonyms decrease (in), lose

7 to call into being through the use of one's inner resources or powers <gathered the strength to finish the marathon> Synonyms conjure (up), summon, get upRelated Words educe, elicit, evoke, raise