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

: to take (something, as a person's wages) that is in the possession of a third party in payment of a debt by court order

Convicted offenders who don't pay their fines can have their driver's licenses suspended, and wages can be garnished if the Department of Taxation is notified.

—Associated Press

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?

When it comes to meanings, garnish giveth, and garnish taketh away. To garnish something is to decorate it, embellish it, give it that extra bit of culinary or designer flair—say, a sprig of parsley or a string of garland. In decidedly different contexts, however, to garnish something—such as the wages of someone who is in debt—is to take it by legal authority. How did this word come to have such opposite meanings? The answer lies in garnish’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 of garnish

Verb

• decorate
• adorn

Noun

• decoration
• ornamentation
• ornament
• garnishment
• adornment

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

Add a pop of color by garnishing it with lemon and lime slices. —Alana Al-Hatlani, Southern Living, 2 Nov. 2025

Stir 10 to 15 seconds and garnish with an orange peel. —Jeremy Repanich, Robb Report, 25 Oct. 2025

Noun

These are still a delicious and useful way to flavor dishes or use as a garnish. —Karen Brewer Grossman, Southern Living, 26 Oct. 2025

Strain into a coupe or cocktail glass and garnish with a cherry. —Jeremy Repanich, Robb Report, 25 Oct. 2025

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

Rhymes for garnish

• tarnish
• varnish

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