garnish

1 of 2

verb

gar·​nish ˈgär-nish 

garnished; garnishing; garnishes

transitive verb

1

a

: decorate, embellish

b

: to add decorative or savory touches to (food or drink)

garnished the fish with parsley leaves

2

: to equip with accessories : furnish

3

: garnishee

garnish

2 of 2

noun

1

: embellishment, ornament

2

: something (such as lemon wedges or parsley) used to decorate or flavor food or drink

3

a

: an unauthorized fee formerly extorted from a new inmate of an English jail

b

: a similar payment required of a new worker

Did you know?

Although we now mostly garnish food, the general application of the "decorate" sense is older. The link between embellishing an object or space and adding a little parsley to a plate is not too hard to see, but how does the sense relating to debtors' wages fit in? The answer lies in the word's Anglo-French root, garnir, which has various meanings including "to give notice or legal summons" and "to decorate." Before wages were garnished, the debtor would be served with a legal summons or warning. The legal sense of garnish now focuses on the taking of the wages, but it is rooted in the action of furnishing the warning.

Synonyms

Verb

• adorn
• array
• beautify
• bedeck
• bedizen
• blazon
• caparison
• deck
• decorate
• do
• do up
• doll up
• drape
• dress
• embellish
• emblaze
• emboss
• enrich
• fancify
• fancy up
• festoon
• glitz (up)
• grace
• gussy up
• ornament
• pretty (up)
• trim

Noun

• adornment
• beautifier
• caparison
• decoration
• doodad
• embellisher
• embellishment
• frill
• garnishment
• garniture
• ornament
• ornamentation
• setoff
• trim

Choose the Right Synonym for garnish

adorn, decorate, ornament, embellish, beautify, deck, garnish mean to enhance the appearance of something by adding something unessential.

adorn implies an enhancing by something beautiful in itself.

a diamond necklace adorned her neck

decorate suggests relieving plainness or monotony by adding beauty of color or design.

decorate a birthday cake

ornament and embellish imply the adding of something extraneous, ornament stressing the heightening or setting off of the original

a white house ornamented with green shutters

, embellish often stressing the adding of superfluous or adventitious ornament.

embellish a page with floral borders

beautify adds to embellish a suggestion of counterbalancing plainness or ugliness.

will beautify the grounds with flower beds

deck implies the addition of something that contributes to gaiety, splendor, or showiness.

a house all decked out for Christmas

garnish suggests decorating with a small final touch and is used especially in referring to the serving of food.

an entrée garnished with parsley

Examples of garnish in a Sentence

Verb

Chocolate curls garnished the cake.

a chef who never served any dish without first garnishing it

Noun

added a garnish of parsley to the plate before serving it

Recent Examples on the Web

Verb

Finish by garnishing with a few mint sprigs and fresh seasonal fruit. —Carlos Rico, San Diego Union-Tribune, 19 Nov. 2023

Everything is mixed together, chilled, and garnished with extra cherries or pecans later if desired. —Kaitlyn Yarborough, Southern Living, 14 Nov. 2023

The gelatinous oxtail stew, more rich and savory than spicy, is ladled around a puck of rice and garnished with green onions cut on the bias. —Tim Carman, Washington Post, 13 Nov. 2023

Here are some examples of snacks and mini-meals that incorporate proteins: Add veggies, like shredded zucchini or finely chopped kale and fresh fruit to oats, and garnish generously with nuts, seeds, or both. —Cynthia Sass, Mph, Rd, Health, 9 Nov. 2023

Add to egg mixture along with remaining ingredients (reserving some chives and thyme for garnishing). —Emily Nabors Hall, Southern Living, 11 Nov. 2023

And her lawyers spent months legally pursuing the money, including garnishing her YouTube monetization account. —Bill Donahue, Billboard, 9 Oct. 2023

There were also what appeared to be cocktails garnished with lime slices. —Erin Clack, Peoplemag, 30 Sep. 2023

Many are wary of cocktails that come in dainty glasses, are garnished with flowers or fruit, or feature a straw for stripping. —Tori Latham, Robb Report, 25 Aug. 2023

Noun

Green Onions Great for: Asian recipes, Mexican recipes, garnishes, salads, braising, roasting, grilling Softer, milder, and far taller than their bulbous onion family plant peers, green onions are herbaceous and delicious in both raw and cooked recipes. —Karla Walsh, Better Homes & Gardens, 26 Nov. 2023

These garnishes pair perfectly with the fresh orange juice and marmalade glaze. —Southern Living Editors, Southern Living, 16 Nov. 2023

Squishmallows Rayen 13-inch Pancake Stack for $12 ($3 off) Amazon Behold this adorable stack of pancakes complete with a butter-and-syrup flower garnish. —Scott Gilbertson, WIRED, 11 Oct. 2023

Raw egg, a typical garnish for natto gohan, also makes for a satisfyingly slurpable concoction. —Megan Zhang, Saveur, 13 Sep. 2023

Serve with cornbread for soaking up every last bite, and add extra garnishes for even more flavor, including ripe avocado, tortilla chips, shredded Monterey Jack, corn, green onions, and more. —Melissa Gray, Southern Living, 4 Nov. 2023

The greens typically called weeds that get ripped out of backyards make a delicious salad and can be a bold garnish — think of purslane, or wood sorrel. —Sean Sherman, San Diego Union-Tribune, 1 Nov. 2023

Imagine sitting down to a fine-dining meal in which droplets of sauce dynamically move basil leaves and other garnishes around the plate in preprogrammed patterns. —Jennifer Ouellette, Ars Technica, 20 Oct. 2023

In a small bowl, juice half of the lime (save the rest for your own use or thinly slice as a garnish). —Christianna Silva, Better Homes & Gardens, 10 Oct. 2023

See More

Word History

Etymology

Verb

Middle English garnishen "to equip, decorate," borrowed from Anglo-French garniss-, present stem of garnir, warnir "to give notice, warn, instruct, give legal summons, provide (for), equip, trim, decorate," going back to Old Low Franconian *warnjan-, variant or reduction of West Germanic *warnōjan- "to make aware" — more at warn

Noun

derivative of garnish entry 1

First Known Use

Verb

14th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1a

Noun

1596, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Podcast

Get Word of the Day delivered to your inbox!

Kids Definition

garnish

verb

gar·​nish

ˈgär-nish

1

: decorate sense 1, embellish

2

: to add decorations or seasonings to (food)

3

: accessorize

garnish noun

garnishment

-mənt

noun

Legal Definition

garnish

transitive verb

gar·​nish ˈgär-nish 

1

: to subject (property or money) to garnishment

2

: to seek satisfaction of (a debt) through garnishment compare attach, levy

Etymology

Transitive verb

Anglo-French garniss-, stem of garnir to garnish, give legal summons, warn, from Old French, of Germanic origin; akin to Old High German warnōn to take heed