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

For the occasion, Robbie left modern-Brontë method dressing garb at home in favor of some sciura style (For the uninitiated—and those without this excellent Instagram on your Explore page—the Sciura is a Milanese woman who dresses elegantly and impeccably. —Anna Cafolla, Vogue, 22 Apr. 2026

Over the summer, the school had a small leak, and the collection of graduation garb got wet. —Bo Evans, CBS News, 21 Apr. 2026

Verb

In another photo released by the U.S. House Oversight Committee, Epstein appears to be garbed in traditional Arab black-and-gold robes and a red-and-white headdress known as a Shemagh. —Miami Herald, 8 Apr. 2026

On last year’s Switcheroo, lapsed L.A. folkie Angel Abaya reintroduced herself as Gelli Haha, a Pierrot clown garbed in red Latex. —Walden Green, Pitchfork, 27 Mar. 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