garner

play

verb gar·ner \ ˈgär-nər \

Definition of garner

garnered; garnering play \ˈgärn-riŋ, ˈgär-nə-\

transitive verb

1 a :to gather into storage

b :to deposit as if in a granary

volumes in which he has garnered the fruits of his lifetime labors
—Reinhold Niebuhr

2 a :to acquire by effort :earn

garnered much praise for his fundraising

b :accumulate, collect

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Examples of garner in a Sentence

She garnered more evidence to support her theory.
The senator has spent much time garnering financial support for his upcoming campaign.
The novel has garnered much praise and several awards.

Recent Examples of garner from the Web

NFL quarterback Colin Kaepernick has garnered attention for his decision to kneel during the national anthem to protest the treatment of minorities.

— jon hale, The Courier-Journal, "Amid protests, Kentucky football statue takes on more meaning in Lexington," 27 Aug. 2017
No communications regulation has garnered so much input — 20 million and counting.

— by tom hudson, miamiherald, "No neutrality on net neutrality among internet-centric companies," 25 Aug. 2017
In a field race, a candidate only needs to garner between 5 percent and 6 percent of the votes to get elected, and strong name ID alone can carry a person to victory.

— jason williams, Cincinnati.com, "PX: Breaking down the Cincinnati City Council race," 24 Aug. 2017
An online petition opposing the proposal has garnered more than 250,000 signatures so far.

— yasmeen serhan, The Atlantic, "Emmanuel Macron: Monsieur Unpopular," 11 Aug. 2017
The latter film, based on a true story, has garnered harsh reviews from vocal critics and pulled in an unexpectedly low $7.7 million.

— rebecca keegan, vanityfair.com, "Staffing Hollywood’s Toughest Job," 7 Aug. 2017
Republican Sens. Lisa Murkowski and Susan Collins have been steadfast in their opposition, but McCain's return after being diagnosed with brain cancer has garnered much attention.

— brittney mcnamara, Teen Vogue, "Sen. Mazie Hirono Celebrated For Health Care Vote While Having Stage 4 Cancer," 28 July 2017
That BFF has garnered more attention in the past year, as The Skimm’s election coverage thrust them prominently into public discussion.

— tess koman, Cosmopolitan, "The Skimm Is Bigger Than Ever — and Its Founders Aren't Here For the Haters," 27 July 2017
But Charlie's parents had garnered support from President Donald Trump, Pope Francis and U.S. lawmakers.

— cleve r. wootson jr., chicagotribune.com, "Charlie Gard's parents end fight over treatment for their terminally-ill son," 24 July 2017

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

Did You Know?

What do you call a building in which grain is stored? These days, English speakers are most likely to call it a granary, but there was a time when the noun garner was also a likely candidate. That noun, which can also mean "something that is collected," dates from the 12th century. The verb garner joined the language two centuries later. The verb was once commonly used with the meaning "to gather into a granary," but today it usually means "to earn" or "to accumulate." The noun garner is uncommon in contemporary use; it is now found mainly in older literary contexts, such as these lines of verse from Sir Walter Scott's "The Bride of Lammermoor": "Or, from the garner-door, on ether borne, / The chaff flies devious from the winnow'd corn."

Origin and Etymology of garner

Middle English (Scots), from Middle English gerner, garner granary, from Anglo-French gerner, grenier, from Latin granarium, from granum grain — more at corn

NEW! Time Traveler

First Known Use: 14th century

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