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

Meanwhile, enforcement actions like wage garnishment or bank levies may continue unchecked. —Sakinah Tillman, Baltimore Sun, 4 June 2025

Many of those borrowers now face aggressive consequences: wage garnishment, loss of tax refunds, and cuts to Social Security benefits. —Ben Kesslen, Quartz, 8 May 2025

About 40% of all cases end up with a wage garnishment, court records show. —Adam Friedman, ProPublica, 5 May 2025

Additionally, their wages would’ve been be subject to garnishment, meaning the government would take money — up to 15% of disposable income — out of their paychecks to repay the defaulted loans. —Kamaron McNair, CNBC, 23 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