garnish

1 of 2

verb

gar·​nish ˈgär-nish 

garnished; garnishing; garnishes

transitive verb

1

a

: decorate, embellish

b

: to add decorative or savory touches to (food or drink)

garnished the fish with parsley leaves

2

: to equip with accessories : furnish

3

: garnishee

garnish

2 of 2

noun

1

: embellishment, ornament

2

: something (such as lemon wedges or parsley) used to decorate or flavor food or drink

3

a

: an unauthorized fee formerly extorted from a new inmate of an English jail

b

: a similar payment required of a new worker

Did you know?

Although we now mostly garnish food, the general application of the "decorate" sense is older. The link between embellishing an object or space and adding a little parsley to a plate is not too hard to see, but how does the sense relating to debtors' wages fit in? The answer lies in the word's Anglo-French root, garnir, which has various meanings including "to give notice or legal summons" and "to decorate." Before wages were garnished, the debtor would be served with a legal summons or warning. The legal sense of garnish now focuses on the taking of the wages, but it is rooted in the action of furnishing the warning.

Synonyms

Verb

• adorn
• array
• beautify
• bedeck
• bedizen
• blazon
• caparison
• deck
• decorate
• do
• do up
• doll up
• drape
• dress
• embellish
• emblaze
• emboss
• enrich
• fancify
• fancy up
• festoon
• glitz (up)
• grace
• gussy up
• ornament
• pretty (up)
• trim

Noun

• adornment
• beautifier
• caparison
• decoration
• doodad
• embellisher
• embellishment
• frill
• garnishment
• garniture
• ornament
• ornamentation
• setoff
• trim

Choose the Right Synonym for garnish

adorn, decorate, ornament, embellish, beautify, deck, garnish mean to enhance the appearance of something by adding something unessential.

adorn implies an enhancing by something beautiful in itself.

a diamond necklace adorned her neck

decorate suggests relieving plainness or monotony by adding beauty of color or design.

decorate a birthday cake

ornament and embellish imply the adding of something extraneous, ornament stressing the heightening or setting off of the original

a white house ornamented with green shutters

, embellish often stressing the adding of superfluous or adventitious ornament.

embellish a page with floral borders

beautify adds to embellish a suggestion of counterbalancing plainness or ugliness.

will beautify the grounds with flower beds

deck implies the addition of something that contributes to gaiety, splendor, or showiness.

a house all decked out for Christmas

garnish suggests decorating with a small final touch and is used especially in referring to the serving of food.

an entrée garnished with parsley

Examples of garnish in a Sentence

Verb

Chocolate curls garnished the cake.

a chef who never served any dish without first garnishing it

Noun

added a garnish of parsley to the plate before serving it

Recent Examples on the Web

Verb

The Hugo spritz was initially concocted in 2005, mixing St-Germain with prosecco and soda water and garnished with mint sprig and a lime wedge. —John Kell, Forbes, 28 Oct. 2024

When a borrower defaults on their student loans, the entire balance comes due immediately, the borrower’s wages can be garnished and their government benefits, and even tax refunds, can be seized to pay back the debt. —Kamaron McNair, CNBC, 25 Oct. 2024

Noun

Set aside 22 pips for garnish; roughly chop the remaining candy. —Kermilia White, Southern Living, 31 Oct. 2024

Instead of a purely salty-savory gravy, pair your turkey with sweet-tart cranberry sauce, or a spicy, herbaceous garnish like chili crisp, salsa macha, or chimichurri, Herrera recommends. —Karla Walsh, Better Homes & Gardens, 26 Oct. 2024

Word History

Etymology

Verb

Middle English garnishen "to equip, decorate," borrowed from Anglo-French garniss-, present stem of garnir, warnir "to give notice, warn, instruct, give legal summons, provide (for), equip, trim, decorate," going back to Old Low Franconian *warnjan-, variant or reduction of West Germanic *warnōjan- "to make aware" — more at warn

Noun

derivative of garnish entry 1

First Known Use

Verb

14th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1a

Noun

1596, in the meaning defined at sense 1

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Kids Definition

garnish

verb

gar·​nish

ˈgär-nish

1

: decorate sense 1, embellish

2

: to add decorations or seasonings to (food)

3

: accessorize

garnish noun

garnishment

-mənt

noun

Legal Definition

garnish

transitive verb

gar·​nish ˈgär-nish 

1

: to subject (property or money) to garnishment

2

: to seek satisfaction of (a debt) through garnishment compare attach, levy

Etymology

Transitive verb

Anglo-French garniss-, stem of garnir to garnish, give legal summons, warn, from Old French, of Germanic origin; akin to Old High German warnōn to take heed