garnishment

noun

gar·​nish·​ment ˈgär-nish-mənt 

1

: ornament, garnish

2

: a legal summons or warning concerning the attachment of property to satisfy a debt

3

: a stoppage of a specified sum from wages to satisfy a creditor or a legal obligation (such as child support)

Synonyms

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

Examples of garnishment in a Sentence

a high-end caterer whose dishes feature an array of over-the-top garnishments

Recent Examples on the Web

Loan servicers began reporting delinquent accounts to credit bureaus in January 2025 and wage garnishments for borrowers who are more than 270 days late on payments are expected to resume soon. —Kamaron McNair, CNBC, 19 May 2025

For those who are subject to garnishment, Brewington says, the results can be devastating. —Matt Sedensky, Los Angeles Times, 16 May 2025

Doing so can allow a borrower to avoid involuntary collections actions such as Treasury Offset and administrative wage garnishment. —Adam S. Minsky, Forbes.com, 5 May 2025

Wage garnishment, snagging your tax refunds, even dipping into Social Security benefits. —Suzanne Blake, MSNBC Newsweek, 1 May 2025

Word History

Etymology

(sense 1) garnish entry 1 + -ment; (senses 2 & 3) borrowed from Anglo-French garnissement "warning, notification, notification concerning the attachment of property to satisfy a debt," from garniss-, stem of garnir "to give notice, warn, give legal summons" + -ment -ment — more at garnish entry 1

First Known Use

1550, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Legal Definition

garnishment

noun

gar·​nish·​ment ˈgär-nish-mənt 

: a remedial device used by a creditor to have property of the debtor or money owed to the debtor that is in the possession of a third party attached to pay the debt to the creditor

specifically : attachment of the debtor's wages to satisfy a judgment compare wage assignment at assignment