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

The wage garnishment will continue until students get the loans out of default. —Karen Garcia, Los Angeles Times, 7 May 2025

But in the past, student loan borrowers were usually given 65 days’ notice before the garnishment of their federal benefits, said higher education expert Mark Kantrowitz. —Annie Nova, CNBC, 6 May 2025

About three-quarters of the cases filed had information on whether a wage garnishment was or wasn’t filed against a borrower. —Adam Friedman, ProPublica, 5 May 2025

The Education Department has also warned that wage garnishments could resume as early as this summer for borrowers who default — a step that had been suspended under the pandemic-era relief. —Thomas G. Moukawsher, MSNBC Newsweek, 23 Apr. 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