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

Noun

• costume
• attire
• clothes
• dress

Verb

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

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

But there’s also the desire to be cool, to be seen as more than just a brown dude with religious head garb. —Manvir Singh, New Yorker, 21 June 2025

That move came as a fan decked out in team garb was escorted out of Dodger Stadium recently for brandishing a small anti-ICE banner as MAGA hat-wearers sat all around. —Dominic Patten, Deadline, 19 June 2025

Verb

The crowd of songwriters, publishers and other industry members, all garbed in suits and elegant dresses, immediately rose to their feet, clapping and singing along to Owen’s lyrics of flowing rivers, rustic Cajun hideaways and playing baseball with chert rocks. —Jessica Nicholson, Billboard, 20 Nov. 2024

People gather expectantly on the streets or gaze from their windows, and then the performers arrive, all garbed in red devil costumes, complete with horns and pitchforks covered in sparkling fireworks. —Matt Ralphs, Smithsonian Magazine, 10 Oct. 2024

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