garner

verb

gar·​ner ˈgär-nər 

garnered; garnering ˈgär-nə-riŋ 

ˈgärn-

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

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 garner was also a good candidate. That noun made its way into the language in the 12th century (ultimately from Latin granum, "grain"); the verb garner followed three centuries later with a closely related meaning: "to gather into a granary." Today the verb has largely abandoned its agrarian roots—it usually means "to earn" or "to accumulate." Meanwhile the noun garner is rare in contemporary use. It's found mostly in older literary contexts, such as these lines 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."

Synonyms of garner

• collect
• gather
• assemble
• amass
• accumulate

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 on the Web

If nothing else, garnering a point from a tie was a far better outcome for the Current than last week’s 3-0 loss at Orlando. — The Kansas City Star, Kansas City Star, 18 July 2026

Panelists warned about a future where Christian nationalists subvert democratic systems in order to achieve a larger goal of garnering special power and privilege for Christians. — Lauren Costantino, Miami Herald, 18 July 2026

Recently, one show titled Screen Time, from Issa Rae’s production company, garnered 75 million views in a week—on TikTok and on TikTok’s micro-drama app, PineDrama. — Xochitl Gonzalez, The Atlantic, 17 July 2026

NowThis garnered over 15 million views on Facebook over the span of just 9 weeks. — Josh Fox, IndieWire, 17 July 2026

Word History

Etymology

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

First Known Use

15th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1a

Podcast

Get Word of the Day delivered to your inbox!

Kids Definition

garner

verb

gar·​ner ˈgär-nər 

1

: to gather into storage

2

a

: to acquire by effort : earn

b

: accumulate sense 1, collect

Biographical Definition

Garner

biographical name

Gar·​ner ˈgär-nər 

John Nance 1868–1967 American politician; vice president of the U.S. (1933–41)