gather Hear it!

gather Definition

gather (gat̸h′ər)

transitive verb

  1. to cause to come together in one place or group
  2. to get or collect gradually from various places, sources, etc.; amass; accumulate to gather information
  3. to bring close to gather a blanket about one's legs
  4. to pick, pluck, or collect by picking; harvest to gather crops
  5. to get as an idea or impression; infer; conclude I gather that you disagree
  6. to prepare to collect (oneself, one's energies) to meet a situation
  7. to gain or acquire gradually to gather speed
  8. to draw (cloth) on a thread loosely stitched across it into fixed folds or puckers
  9. to wrinkle (one's brow)
  10. to put (the pages or signatures of a book) in proper order for binding

Etymology: ME gaderen < OE gad(e)rian, akin to OFris gaduria, Du gaderen < IE base *ghedh-, to unite, join > (to)gether, good, Ger gatte, spouse

intransitive verb

  1. to come together; assemble to gather for lunch
  2. to form pus; come to a head, as a boil; fester
  3. to increase clouds gathered
  4. to become wrinkled: said of the brow

noun

a pucker or fold made in cloth

gather Related Forms

gath′er·er noun

gather Idioms

be gathered to one's fathers

to die: cf. Judg. 2:10

gather up

  1. to pick up and assemble
  2. to draw together; make more compact

gather Synonyms

gather

v.

  1. To come together

    assemble, meet, gather around, congregate, rally, crowd, throng, convene, collect, muster, unite, get together, flock together, hang around, flock in, pour in, associate, hold a reunion, reunite, forgather, resort, swarm, huddle, go into a huddle, rally around, group, converge, accumulate, cluster, concentrate, close, gang up*.

    Antonyms scatter*, disperse*, part. *

  2. To bring together

    collect, assemble, rally, accumulate, aggregate, amass, muster, marshal, mobilize, round up, draw in, pick up, rake up, fish up, swoop up, scoop up, pile up; see also accumulate 1, assemble 2.

  3. To conclude

    infer, deduce, find; see assume 1.

  4. To harvest

    garner, reap, glean, take in; see harvest.

  5. To choose

    pick, cull, select; see choose 1.

gather is the general term for a bringing or coming together to gather scattered objects, people gathered at the corners; collect usually implies careful choice in gathering from various sources, a bringing into an orderly arrangement, etc. he collects coins; assemble applies especially to the gathering together of persons for some special purpose assemble the students in the auditorium; muster applies to a formal assembling, especially of troops for inspection, roll call, etc. See also syn. study at infer.

gather Usage Examples

Object

  • momentum: Already it was making waves in many sectors, but its growth has gathered momentum sharply in the past year.
  • pace: Algeria: West put to the test For years western governments have known about the gruesome events gathering pace in Algeria.
  • dust: Baker Tilly advised the vendors ensuring that the process didn't gather any dust.
  • evidence: The group will be holding an open meeting in October to gather evidence on key issues.
  • datum: Also speech data gathered during the field trial was analyzed to give speech recognition accuracy.
  • intelligence: However, they had been useful in gathering intelligence for the Allies.

Adjective complement

outside: Television cameras were not allowed in the church but the sound of the service was transmitted to hundreds of people who gathered outside.

Modifying Another Word

together: The house of Jehovah answers to our being gathered together.

Followed by an intransitive particle

around: Mark moves among your guests and performs for individuals; others gather around to watch, forming small groups.

Followed by a transitive particle

around: All of the saints of God will gather around the banquet table of the Lamb with Abraham, Isaac and Jacob.

Infinitive complement

  • celebrate: Patients and friends, many of them from the unit's first few years, gathered to celebrate the start of its second decade.
  • roost: Larger flocks can be observed in the evening when birds gather to roost on Mokuaeae Island.
  • watch: Heather Lee and others prepared bacon butties and around 40 people gathered to watch the big match on a big-screen projection TV.
  • hear: A crowd of up to 10,000 had gathered to hear one candidate, Mr. Walhouse speak.
  • discuss: Energy experts will be gathering to discuss how they can reduce carbon emissions.
  • remember: Tsunami Appeal Pupils and staff gather together to remember the victims and survivors of the tsunami disaster.

Preposition: in

  • circle: They gather in a circle on Tuesday and Thursday evenings, wearing jeans and T-shirts.
  • hall: We all gathered in the hall for a chat with the head.
  • cathedral: We gather in this great cathedral, one of the finest Romanesque buildings in northern Europe.

Preposition: for

worship: What a privilege to be able to gather for worship.

Browse dictionary entries near gather

  1. ‹ Gath
  2. ‹ Gateway Virus Scanners
  3. ‹ gateway
  4. ‹ Gateshead
  5. ‹ Gates, Bill
  6. ‹ Gates
  7. ‹ gatepost
  8. ‹ gateleg table
  9. ‹ gatekeeper
  10. ‹ gatehouse
  1. gather in the stops ›
  2. gathered ›
  3. gathering ›
  4. Gatineau ›
  5. Gatling gun ›
  6. gator ›
  7. GATT ›
  8. Gatun ›
  9. gauche ›
  10. gaucherie ›