garden

1 of 3

noun

gar·​den ˈgär-dᵊn How to pronounce garden (audio)
plural gardens
1
a
: a plot of ground where herbs, fruits, flowers, or vegetables are cultivated
b
: a rich well-cultivated region
c
: a container (such as a window box) planted with usually a variety of small plants
2
a
: a public recreation area or park usually ornamented with plants and trees
a botanical garden
b
: an open-air eating or drinking place
c
: a large hall for public entertainment
gardenful noun

see also garden apartment, garden level

garden

2 of 3

verb

gardened; gardening ˈgär-də-niŋ How to pronounce garden (audio)
ˈgärd-niŋ

intransitive verb

: to lay out or work in a garden

transitive verb

1
: to make into a garden
2
: to ornament with gardens

garden

3 of 3

adjective

1
: of, relating to, used in, or frequenting a garden
a garden gate
a garden hose
garden pests
2
: of a kind typically grown in gardens
garden phlox
also : suitable for growth in an outdoor garden especially due to hardiness
garden chrysanthemums
3
: commonly found : garden-variety

Examples of garden in a Sentence

Noun We planted a small garden in our backyard. They were sitting out in the back garden.
Recent Examples on the Web
Noun
April is the month when the most enthusiastic plant lovers go to the garden centers and nurseries. Chris McKeown, The Enquirer, 23 Mar. 2024 Sources previously told Page Six the new brand, which comes six years after Meghan closed her lifestyle blog The Tig to join the royal family, will focus on home, garden, food and general lifestyle wares. Harriet Johnston, Glamour, 22 Mar. 2024 Rather, the audience hears distant screams and gunshots coming from inside the camp, as the family eats dinner, plays in the pool and tends to their garden. Patrick Ryan, USA TODAY, 21 Mar. 2024 Photo : Frank Urso/Dynamic Media Solutions The backyard features organic rhododendron gardens and other immaculate plants, which bloom in the summer. Emma Reynolds, Robb Report, 20 Mar. 2024 Modern community gardens and food share programs are critical to food security and availability along the Front Range. Tamara Yakaboski, The Denver Post, 20 Mar. 2024 Whether they’re meant to keep animals (or people) in or out, delineate property lines or just separate sections of a garden, barriers are one of the most basic aspects of agriculture and landscape design. Kate Morgan, Washington Post, 19 Mar. 2024 Photographed by Daniel Jackson, Vogue, January 2020 Having cultivated his color-rich and textural collections as devotedly as his garden, Dries Van Noten, now 65, has decided to put down his shears in favor of his pruners. Laird Borrelli-Persson, Vogue, 19 Mar. 2024 Naturally, there is a garden, bursting with vegetables and flowers — as well as a welcoming swimming pool. Carolina A. Miranda, Los Angeles Times, 9 Mar. 2024
Verb
The Living Wall Is the Natural Next Step for Decorating with Plants Vertical Gardening Considerations Take these elements into account when gardening vertically outdoors: Anchor your vertical gardening structure before planting to avoid disturbing the roots or stems of plants. Deb Wiley, Better Homes & Gardens, 16 Jan. 2024 What opened her up to the parallels, Martin says, was gardening. Lorraine Berry, Los Angeles Times, 15 Jan. 2024 Rooms in the early 20th-century houses are large, and while most houses are close together, there is room to garden. Debbie Funk, Washington Post, 17 Jan. 2024 This particular model has room for six pods and up to 12 inches of grow height, and users don’t need an app to start gardening. Rudie Obias, The Hollywood Reporter, 11 Dec. 2023 For the citrus lover This lemon tree is an unexpected, yet really lovely idea for the in-law who likes to garden, cook, spend time on their patio with a good book or just enjoy their tea with fresh slices of citrus. Karen I. Chen, wsj.com, 17 Nov. 2023 Although she's been generous with offering information on her plants, Stefani is keeping the secret of how to garden with long acrylic nails to herself (for now). Sophia Beams, Better Homes & Gardens, 10 Jan. 2024 The Clarion Choir and Orchestra performs a sizable chunk of his lifetime output in a five-hour extravaganza that migrates from room to room to garden. Vulture, 5 Jan. 2024 Pransky, a Master Gardener since 2012, has gardened in San Diego for more than 30 years. Susan Pransky, San Diego Union-Tribune, 14 Oct. 2023
Adjective
Wilma was a lifelong member of the United Methodist Church, and a member of many social, civic and garden groups. Orlando Sentinel, OrlandoSentinel.com, 8 Feb. 2018 Garden categories include vegetables, fruit, flowers and miscellaneous items such as gourds, pumpkins and sunflowers. Courant Community, 29 Aug. 2017 Garden spaces are available from early May to November. Julie Washington, cleveland.com, 21 June 2017 Garden club member and garden walk chairperson Marci Stritch said the club has held annual garden walks for about 21 years. Ginger Brashinger, Daily Southtown, 21 June 2017 Garden Conservancy Day GLASTONBURY — On Saturday, June 24, from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m., there will be four gardens open for viewing in Glastonbury. Courant Community, 19 June 2017 Garden program Learn about the Gable rhododendrons with garden expert Don Hyatt. Washington Post, 10 May 2017 Garden staples like spinach and some lettuce, for example, will stop growing the tasty leaves and shoot up a seed spire when the weather gets too hot. Roxie Hammill, kansascity.com, 29 Apr. 2017 Garden experts say to create a tent structure to drape a cover, or use a frost blanket, which is specially made for the job. Kieran Nicholson, The Denver Post, 28 Apr. 2017

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'garden.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

Word History

Etymology

Noun

Middle English gardyn, borrowed from Anglo-French gardyn, gardeyn, jardin, from Old French jart, (Picard and French Flanders) gart "garden" (going back to Old Low Franconian *garda- "enclosure, fence" going back to Germanic *garđa-, whence Old Saxon gard "garden, dwelling, world," Old High German gart "enclosure," Old English geard "fence, enclosure") + -in, probably adjective suffix (going back to Latin -īnus -ine entry 1), originally in Gallo-Romance *hortus gardīnus "enclosed garden" — more at yard entry 1

Verb

derivative of garden entry 1

Adjective

Middle English gardyn, attributive use of gardyn garden entry 1

First Known Use

Noun

13th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1a

Verb

circa 1558, in the meaning defined at intransitive sense

Adjective

15th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Time Traveler
The first known use of garden was in the 13th century

Dictionary Entries Near garden

Cite this Entry

“Garden.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/garden. Accessed 29 Mar. 2024.

Kids Definition

garden

1 of 3 noun
gar·​den ˈgärd-ᵊn How to pronounce garden (audio)
1
: a plot of ground where herbs, fruits, flowers, or vegetables are grown
2
a
: a public recreation area or park usually ornamented with plants and trees
a botanical garden
b
: an open-air eating or drinking place

garden

2 of 3 verb
gardened; gardening ˈgärd-niŋ How to pronounce garden (audio)
-ᵊn-iŋ
1
: to lay out or work in a garden
2
: to make into a garden

garden

3 of 3 adjective
1
: of, relating to, used in, or frequenting gardens
2
: of a kind grown under cultivation especially in the open
garden plants

More from Merriam-Webster on garden

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