What does "garland" mean?
A circular or linear decoration, especially one of plaited flowers or leaves, worn on the body or draped as a decoration.
Garland
/ˈɡɑː.lənd/ name, noun, verb
name, noun, verb ·Common ·Middle school level
Meaning at a glance
- Primary sense: A circular or linear decoration, especially one of plaited flowers or leaves, worn on the body or draped as a decoration.
- Grammar: garland is listed as name, noun, verb.
- Nearest alternatives: lei, wreath, achievement, adorn.
- Useful contrasts: detach, disrespect, strip.
- Usage evidence: The women put a garland round her neck.
How to use "garland"
- Start with the primary definition, then check the part of speech before placing the word in a sentence.
- Compare nearby synonyms to make sure "garland" carries the exact meaning, tone, and strength you need.
- Use the example sentence as a context check. If your sentence uses the word differently, confirm that the grammar still fits.
Meaning check
- Does the word fit the sentence's grammar?
- Does it match the intended tone rather than only the dictionary definition?
- Would a simpler synonym be clearer for the reader?
- Is there enough surrounding context to prevent ambiguity?
Source and review context
This entry combines structured lexical data with WordToolSet review checks. Definitions, examples, synonyms, and usage notes may come from different source tables, so the page is designed to show evidence from more than one angle before you rely on "garland" in a final draft.
If a word has several senses, prefer the sense that matches your sentence's grammar and surrounding context. A correct definition can still be the wrong choice when the sentence needs a different register, emphasis, or level of specificity.
Before you rely on this definition
Read the first definition as a starting point, then check the example, synonyms, and part of speech before treating "garland" as the right word for your sentence.
If your draft is formal, technical, persuasive, or sensitive, compare "garland" with a nearby alternative so the final choice matches both meaning and reader expectation.
Compare nearby meanings
- Use synonyms when you need a softer, stronger, simpler, or more specific word.
- Use antonyms to check the boundary of the meaning and avoid accidental contrast.
- Use the example sentence to confirm the word behaves naturally in context.
- Keep the original wording when a replacement adds complexity without improving precision.
Definition decision workflow
1. Identify the role
Check whether "garland" is acting as name, noun, verb in your sentence. A definition is only useful when the grammar matches the way the word is being used.
2. Test the nearest option
Compare it with "lei" and other nearby choices to see whether the sentence needs a softer, stronger, or more familiar word.
3. Confirm with context
Use the example sentence below as an evidence check, then read your own sentence out loud to catch tone or rhythm problems.
Review note: Definition pages are checked for source coverage, sentence evidence, synonym support, and editorial insight before they are treated as approval-ready pages. If the evidence is too thin, the page remains available to users but is kept out of the approval-facing indexed inventory.
Final meaning check
Before publishing a sentence with "garland", ask whether the word helps the reader understand the idea faster. A precise word should reduce confusion, not simply make the sentence look more polished.
When the definition, synonym evidence, and example context point in the same direction, the word is usually a safer choice. When they conflict, revise the sentence or choose a clearer alternative.
Definitions
Noun
- 1 A circular or linear decoration, especially one of plaited flowers or leaves, worn on the body or draped as a decoration.
"Bestow a Garland only on a Bier"
- 2 flower arrangement consisting of a circular band of foliage or flowers for ornamental purposes wordnet
- 3 An accolade or mark of honour.
- 4 an anthology of short literary pieces and poems and ballads etc. wordnet
- 5 A metal gutter placed round a mineshaft on the inside, to catch water running down inside the shaft and run it into a drainpipe.
Show 5 more definitions
- 6 The crown of a monarch.
"[She] ioyfully receyued and welcommed mee, as the onely type and garland of her noble ſtirpe and linage, […]"
- 7 A book of extracts in prose or poetry; an anthology. dated
"They [ballads] began to be collected into little miscellanies under the name of garlands."
- 8 The top; the thing most prized.
"And call him noble that was now your hate, / Him vile that was your garland."
- 9 A sort of netted bag used by sailors to keep provisions in.
- 10 A grommet or ring of rope lashed to a spar for convenience in handling.
Verb
- 1 To deck or ornament something with a garland. transitive
"Anand disembarks like a statesman from the Volkswagen to be garlanded immediately by five different women."
- 2 adorn with bands of flowers or leaves wordnet
- 3 To form something into a garland. transitive
Proper Noun
- 1 A surname originating as an occupation for a maker or seller of garlands. countable, uncountable
"U.S. Senators Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) and Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) led Senators Kirsten Gillibrand (D-N.Y.), Ed Markey (D-Mass.), Cory Booker (D-N.J.), and Ron Wyden (D-Ore.) to send a letter to President Biden, Attorney General Merrick Garland, and Health and Human Services (HHS) Secretary Xavier Becerra, following up on previous requests that the administration use its authority to deschedule cannabis and pardon non-violent cannabis-related offenders."
- 2 A male given name transferred from the surname. countable
- 3 A number of places in the United States, named for persons with the surname:; A town in Miller County, Arkansas. countable, uncountable
- 4 A number of places in the United States, named for persons with the surname:; An unincorporated community in Bourbon County, Kansas. countable, uncountable
- 5 A number of places in the United States, named for persons with the surname:; A town in Penobscot County, Maine. countable, uncountable
Show 8 more definitions
- 6 A number of places in the United States, named for persons with the surname:; An unincorporated community in Henry County, Missouri. countable, uncountable
- 7 A number of places in the United States, named for persons with the surname:; A village in Seward County, Nebraska. countable, uncountable
- 8 A number of places in the United States, named for persons with the surname:; A town in Sampson County, North Carolina. countable, uncountable
- 9 A number of places in the United States, named for persons with the surname:; An unincorporated community in Miami County, Ohio. countable, uncountable
- 10 A number of places in the United States, named for persons with the surname:; A city mostly in Dallas County, Texas. countable, uncountable
- 11 A number of places in the United States, named for persons with the surname:; A city in Box Elder County, Utah. countable, uncountable
- 12 A number of places in the United States, named for persons with the surname:; A census-designated place in Park County, Wyoming. countable, uncountable
- 13 A locality in the Blayney council area, central eastern New South Wales, Australia. countable, uncountable
Antonyms
Example
"The women put a garland round her neck."
Common questions
What is a synonym for "garland"?
Common synonyms include: lei, wreath, achievement, adorn, album, alerion.
How do you use "garland" in a sentence?
The women put a garland round her neck.
How do you pronounce "garland"?
Pronounced /ˈɡɑː.lənd/.
Etymology
Etymology 1
From Middle English garland, garlaunde, gerland, from Old French garlande, garlaunde, gerlande, guerlande (compare French guirlande), from Frankish *wierlōn, *wieralōn, a frequentative form of Frankish *wierōn (“to adorn, bedeck”), from *wiera (“a gold thread”), from or related to Proto-Germanic *wīraz. Akin to Old High German wieren (“to adorn”), Old High German wiara (“gold thread”). More at wire.
Etymology 2
English surname, from the noun garland. Also derived from Garland in Devon, from an ancestor of the noun gore (“triangular piece of land”) + land.