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 of garb

Relevance

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
Elsewhere, Washington is portrayed astride a horse or atop a column; shirtless, in classical garb, or, more commonly, in a long coat and tricorn. — Matthew Wills, JSTOR Daily, 27 July 2026 Other companies have found success by producing political garb. — Jay Stahl, USA Today, 25 July 2026
Verb
Alongside it is Footsi (1979), a video in which two fingers garbed in little shoes and socks move across the artist’s body. — Alex Greenberger, ARTnews.com, 16 July 2026 The Qataris, garbed in white robes with red sashes, sat directly behind the goal in the lower bowl. — Joseph Dycus, Mercury News, 13 June 2026 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

See All Rhymes for garb

Browse Nearby Words

garawi
garb
garbage
See all Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

“Garb.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/garb. Accessed 1 Aug. 2026.

Copy Citation

Kids Definition

garb

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

More from Merriam-Webster on garb

Nglish: Translation of garb for Spanish Speakers

Last Updated: - Updated example sentences
Love words? Need even more definitions?

Subscribe to America's largest dictionary and get thousands more definitions and advanced search—ad free!

More from Merriam-Webster

Word of the Day

Listen to the pronunciation of spindrift

See Definitions and Examples »

Popular in Grammar & Usage

See More

7 Pairs of Commonly Confused Words

Merriam-Webster’s Great Big List of Words You Love to Hate

Is it 'nerve-racking' or 'nerve-wracking'?

Why does English have so many silent letters?

Your vs. You're: How to Use Them Correctly
See More

Popular in Wordplay

See More

Dutch Treat and French Leave: Eight Place-Based Compounds

14 Phobias You Probably Haven't Heard Of

The Longest Long Words List

The Words of the Week - Jul. 31

Even More Bird Names that Sound Like Insults (and Sometimes Are)
See More

Popular

See More

7 Pairs of Commonly Confused Words

Dutch Treat and French Leave: Eight Place-Based Compounds

14 Phobias You Probably Haven't Heard Of
See More

Games & Quizzes

See All
Play Quordle: Guess all four words in a limited number of tries. Each of your guesses must be a real 5-letter word.
Quordle Can you solve 4 words at once?
Play Blossom: Solve today's spelling word game by finding as many words as you can using just 7 letters. Longer words score more points.
Blossom Pick the best words!
Play Missing Letter: a crossword with a twist. Each of the 25 puzzle words start with a different letter of the alphabet. Which letter is missing?
The Missing Letter A daily crossword with a twist
asap street sign
Figure Out These Acronyms ASAP You don't have to be a NASA engineer to get these...
See All