garb

1 of 2

noun

ˈgärb How to pronounce garb (audio)
Synonyms of garbnext
1
obsolete : fashion, manner
2
a
: a style of apparel
b
: outward form : appearance

garb

2 of 2

verb

garbed; garbing; garbs

transitive verb

: to cover with or as if with clothing

Synonyms

Noun

Verb

See All Synonyms & Antonyms in Thesaurus

Examples of garb in a Sentence

Noun decided to clothe himself in traditional Scottish garb for the celebration a fable about personal redemption presented in the garb of a conventional horror story Verb firefighters garbed in protective gear
Recent Examples on the Web
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Noun
Johnny gets a kick out of her attempts to replicate what is probably a CGI image of a girl lying on the beach in full mermaid garb. —Rafaela Bassili, Vulture, 3 Mar. 2025 If historical clothing’s your thing, there are sessions on dyes, making reproductions of historical garb and more. —Beth Lipoff, Kansas City Star, 22 Feb. 2025
Verb
The crowd of songwriters, publishers and other industry members, all garbed in suits and elegant dresses, immediately rose to their feet, clapping and singing along to Owen’s lyrics of flowing rivers, rustic Cajun hideaways and playing baseball with chert rocks. —Jessica Nicholson, Billboard, 20 Nov. 2024 People gather expectantly on the streets or gaze from their windows, and then the performers arrive, all garbed in red devil costumes, complete with horns and pitchforks covered in sparkling fireworks. —Matt Ralphs, Smithsonian Magazine, 10 Oct. 2024 See All Example Sentences for garb

Word History

Etymology

Noun

borrowed from Middle French & Italian; Middle French garbe "graceful contour, grace," borrowed from Italian garbo "grace, charm, good manners, form, outline of a ship's hull made from wood pieces," of uncertain origin

Note: If the sense "outline of a ship's hull" is prior to the more abstract senses, the modern Italian word probably continues an earlier etymon represented by (alleged) medieval Genoese dialect garibu in the sense "model of a hull," itself ultimately a loan from Arabic qālib "mold, shoemaker's last" (see caliber); details of attestation are thus far incompletely documented, however. An earlier hypothesis connecting garbo (and the related verb garbare "to be becoming to, please") to Germanic *garwjan- "to prepare, make ready" (presumably via Gothic; see gear entry 1, yare) is questionable on semantic and phonetic grounds.

Verb

derivative of garb entry 1

First Known Use

Noun

1600, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Verb

1673, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler
The first known use of garb was in 1600

Rhymes for garb

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Browse Nearby Words

garawi
garb
garbage
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Cite this Entry

“Garb.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/garb. Accessed 22 Apr. 2025.

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Kids Definition

garb

noun
ˈgärb
1
: style of dress
2
: outward form : appearance
garb verb

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