garb

1 of 2

noun

ˈgärb 

1

obsolete : fashion, manner

2

a

: a style of apparel

b

: outward form : appearance

garb

2 of 2

verb

garbed; garbing; garbs

transitive verb

: to cover with or as if with clothing

Synonyms of garb

Noun

• costume
• attire
• clothes
• dress

Verb

• clothe
• dress
• attire
• costume
• apparel
• gown
• garment

Examples of garb in a Sentence

Noun

decided to clothe himself in traditional Scottish garb for the celebration

a fable about personal redemption presented in the garb of a conventional horror story

Verb

firefighters garbed in protective gear

Recent Examples on the Web

Noun

The Mexican immigration agents who had guarded the group on their three-day trip from the border said their charges, still dressed in the prison garb of detainees, were now free to go. —Kate Linthicum, Los Angeles Times, 21 Mar. 2026

Will Meryl Streep attend the Met Gala in full Miranda Priestly garb? —Sam Reed, Glamour, 16 Mar. 2026

Verb

But the visitors from Memphis were a husk of that outfit, a cavalcade of new faces and Golden State castoffs being observed by the ghost of Ja Morant garbed in street clothes. —Joseph Dycus, Mercury News, 10 Feb. 2026

He was garbed in prison attire and did not speak during the brief hearing. —Arkansas Online, 24 Jan. 2026

Word History

Etymology

Noun

borrowed from Middle French & Italian; Middle French garbe "graceful contour, grace," borrowed from Italian garbo "grace, charm, good manners, form, outline of a ship's hull made from wood pieces," of uncertain origin

Note: If the sense "outline of a ship's hull" is prior to the more abstract senses, the modern Italian word probably continues an earlier etymon represented by (alleged) medieval Genoese dialect garibu in the sense "model of a hull," itself ultimately a loan from Arabic qālib "mold, shoemaker's last" (see caliber); details of attestation are thus far incompletely documented, however. An earlier hypothesis connecting garbo (and the related verb garbare "to be becoming to, please") to Germanic *garwjan- "to prepare, make ready" (presumably via Gothic; see gear entry 1, yare) is questionable on semantic and phonetic grounds.

Verb

derivative of garb entry 1

First Known Use

Noun

1600, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Verb

1673, in the meaning defined above

Rhymes for garb

• arb
• barb
• barbe
• aldicarb
• rhubarb

Kids Definition

garb

noun

ˈgärb

1

: style of dress

2

: outward form : appearance

garb verb