garb

noun

\ ˈgärb

Definition of garb

(Entry 1 of 2)

1 obsolete : fashion, manner

2a : a style of apparel

b : outward form : appearance

garb

verb

garbed; garbing; garbs

Definition of garb (Entry 2 of 2)

transitive verb

: to cover with or as if with clothing

Synonyms & Antonyms Example Sentences Learn More about garb

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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

LOL Observation Only servers in beer halls and restaurants sport dirndls and lederhosen—which like any flight attendant’s garb, are uniforms for work. — William Sertl, WSJ, "Brief, Breezy and Foolproof Itineraries to 6 European Cities," 16 Jan. 2019 Tourists, of course, are central to that vision, and unsurprisingly both stores have devoted their first floors to out-of-towners looking for some NYC-centric garb. — Steff Yotka, Vogue, "Two Very Big Reasons You Should Do Your Holiday Shopping in Midtown Manhattan," 20 Nov. 2018 Today, a new photo was released of the future king in military garb laughing alongside his two sons, Prince William and Prince Harry. — Caroline Hallemann, Town & Country, "Prince William and Prince Harry Look So Affectionate With Prince Charles in a New Candid Photo," 19 Nov. 2018 End the day at Gadsby's Tavern, where some of our founding fathers used to drink, and don't mind the actors in colonial garb performing for you. — Condé Nast Traveler, "The Best Cities in the U.S.: 2018 Readers' Choice Awards," 9 Oct. 2018 Behind me was a mini-platoon of rangers running in full garb with their rifles. — Rachel Levin, WSJ, "The Toughest Half-Marathon You’ll Want to Plan a Trip Around," 3 July 2018 Working with a friend who shared her love for fried dough, Cholak went to board meetings in doughnut garb and fought hard for the university to recognize the club. — Elena Weissmann, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, "Meet Rachael Cholak, the girl with the doughnut tattoos," 25 June 2018 On Garter Day, the Queen and her knights process in grand ceremonial garb at Windsor Castle. — Rose Minutaglio, Harper's BAZAAR, "Why Prince Harry, Meghan Markle, and Kate Middleton Weren't at the Order of the Garter Service," 18 June 2018 Surrounded by a battalion of male dancers, all dressed in 1920s garb, JLo piruotted in wide white pants and a sparkly corsette that later gave way to a white zoot suit and matching hat. — Leila Cobo, Billboard, "Jennifer Lopez & DJ Khaled Put on Dazzling Performance of 'Dinero' at the Billboard Music Awards," 20 May 2018

Recent Examples on the Web: Verb

Other images show families huddled together garbed in the over-sized sweatshirts, along with kids and teens posing in an array of crop tops, hoodies and biker shorts. — Morgan M. Evans, Fox News, "Kanye West launches Yeezy campaign with nude Kim Kardashian lookalike models," 13 June 2018 The Duchess of Cambridge and her mother-in-law, Camilla, both garbed in pale blue outfits, rode in carriages behind Markle and Harry. — Morgan M. Evans, Fox News, "Meghan Markle attends annual Trooping the Colour parade, makes Buckingham Palace balcony debut," 9 June 2018 Maria Pinhiero’s family could contend for the title as one of the most patriotically garbed at Orlando’s Fourth of July celebration at Lake Eola. — Kyle Arnold, OrlandoSentinel.com, "Fireworks dazzle as Orlando comes together to celebrate Independence Day," 4 July 2018 The remaining members of the company (which numbers 10) are garbed in Cassidy Haley’s shiny black sci-fi outfits; most have character names, though what differentiates them is difficult to discern. — Allan Ulrich, San Francisco Chronicle, "Robert Dekkers’ ‘Red Shoes’ not quite the right fit at Diablo Ballet," 5 May 2018 Buy Photo Hundreds of tie-dye garbed, jam band-loving fans will be lining up at the Ardmore Music Hall this weekend for two special Father’s Day, matinee-edition Grateful Dead tribute shows. — Jonathan Takiff, Philly.com, "Hopped up on fruit snacks, tiny fans rock out to Grateful Dead, Beatles at concerts for kids," 13 June 2018 Idris Elba and his girlfriend Sabrina Dhowre walked into the chapel hand in hand with garbed in black outfits. — Fox News, "Meghan Markle, Prince Harry's wedding full of A-listers from George Clooney to Oprah to Serena Williams," 19 May 2018 As all the celebrities arrived at the chapel for the ceremony, garbed in their royal best, there was one star in particular who set himself apart from the crowd. — Fox News, "Elton John caught frowning during Meghan Markle, Prince Harry's wedding," 19 May 2018 There’s an earthy duet for Dores André and Luke Ingham, a corps garbed like centurions, a fellow (Wei Wang) in chalky white makeup, alternately toting a gold fishing rod and standing on his head and a general air of decadence. — Allan Ulrich, San Francisco Chronicle, "Pita’s ‘Bjork Ballet’ a stunning work in S.F. Ballet’s final Unbound program," 27 Apr. 2018

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'garb.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

History and Etymology for garb

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

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