1
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as in to harvest
to catch or collect (a crop or natural resource) for human use late summer is when we gather the tomatoes and begin canning them for the winter

Synonyms & Similar Words

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

3
4
5
as in to accumulate
to gradually form into a layer, pile, or mass the newspapers that had been allowed to gather on the front doorstep told thieves that the family was away on vacation

Synonyms & Similar Words

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

6
7
as in to summon
to call into being through the use of one's inner resources or powers gathered the strength to finish the marathon

Synonyms & Similar Words

Synonym Chooser

How does the verb gather differ from other similar words?

Some common synonyms of gather are assemble, collect, and congregate. While all these words mean "to come or bring together into a group, mass, or unit," gather is the most general term for bringing or coming together from a spread-out or scattered state.

a crowd quickly gathered

Where would assemble be a reasonable alternative to gather?

Although the words assemble and gather have much in common, assemble implies an ordered union or organization of persons or things often for a definite purpose.

experts assembled for a conference

When is collect a more appropriate choice than gather?

The words collect and gather can be used in similar contexts, but collect often implies careful selection or orderly arrangement.

collected books on gardening

When could congregate be used to replace gather?

In some situations, the words congregate and gather are roughly equivalent. However, congregate implies a spontaneous flocking together into a crowd or huddle.

congregating under a shelter

Example Sentences

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.
Recent Examples of gather The players flung t-shirts and candies into the crowds that gathered along their rout, showing off their trophy and waving to children bundled in Husky hats with jerseys layered on top of sweatshirts to brave the chilly afternoon. Emily Adams, Hartford Courant, 13 Apr. 2025 From April 18-27, auto enthusiasts will gather at the Jacob Javits Convention Center to experience first-hand what their favorite manufacturers have to offer. Marc D. Grasso, New York Daily News, 13 Apr. 2025 All of the 11 astronauts now aboard the station gathered for a short ceremony after the docking more than 260 miles above the Atlantic Ocean. Eric Lagatta, USA TODAY, 16 Mar. 2025 Outside the Manhattan courthouse, hundreds of protesters gathered. Benjamin Wallace-Wells, The New Yorker, 16 Mar. 2025 See All Example Sentences for gather
Recent Examples of Synonyms for gather
Verb
  • Healthcare institutions and insurers arguably collect the most sensitive information about you, including IDs, contact details, addresses and medical records.
    Kurt Knutsson, FOXNews.com, 27 Apr. 2025
  • The film collected another $17 million internationally for a galactic $42 million global tally over the weekend.
    Rebecca Rubin, Variety, 27 Apr. 2025
Verb
  • In 2019, during the first Trump administration, agents in Mississippi used data harvested from Geo Group’s tools to help secure a warrant for a raid on a chicken processing plant.
    Paul Mozur, New York Times, 14 Apr. 2025
  • The crop can be harvested at anytime but most leave the bulbs in the ground until the tops decline and flop over.
    Tom MacCubbin, The Orlando Sentinel, 12 Apr. 2025
Verb
  • The body’s chakras Yogis believe that the body contains many chakras: spinning wheels, or energy centers, where feelings, emotions, and thoughts converge.
    Tony Sanchez, Time, 25 Apr. 2025
  • Gladstone and Boselli converged in the draft room — Gladstone pacing and fondling a football (which has become his custom), Boselli reclining in a chair facing the draft board — and spoke excitedly of the night ahead.
    Michael Silver, New York Times, 25 Apr. 2025
Verb
  • With a nod to Indigenous science, Sweat says principles of holistic and ancient Ayurvedic medicine, which originated in India and is also practiced in many Latin American countries, will be utilized in teaching, including the use of products mainly derived from plants.
    Stephanie Stephens, USA Today, 25 Apr. 2025
  • The nuanced feedback and emotional resonance derived from physical interaction remain a critical component of the evaluation process.
    Alex Levin, Forbes.com, 24 Apr. 2025
Verb
  • For example, an American house accumulates an average of 300,000 objects, with more money spent each year on shoes, jewelry and clothes than on higher education.
    Ana Morales, Vogue, 16 Apr. 2025
  • The defender never accumulated more than five sacks in a season at Georgia and often struggled to get around quality offensive tackles.
    Arick Wierson, MSNBC Newsweek, 16 Apr. 2025
Verb
  • Detroit Mayor Mike Duggan said at a March press conference that homeowners had gained $4.6 billion from 2014 to 2023.
    Thomas G. Moukawsher, MSNBC Newsweek, 24 Apr. 2025
  • Leonard gained the zone and found Anthony Beauvillier for a one-time pass to Strome alone in the slot.
    Arpon Basu, New York Times, 24 Apr. 2025
Verb
  • All cardinals in Rome were summoned to a meeting Tuesday before a new pope is elected.
    Eric Lagatta, USA Today, 23 Apr. 2025
  • The phrase, summoning a kind of papal succession, alerted the political faithful that Sheinbaum had been chosen to succeed López Obrador as the head of his party, the National Regeneration Movement, or MORENA.
    Stephania Taladrid, New Yorker, 21 Apr. 2025
Verb
  • The mission will be the ninth crew mission to Tiangong, and the sixth visit since the three-module orbital outpost was fully assembled in October 2022.
    Tariq Malik, Space.com, 23 Apr. 2025
  • Foreign companies producing goods in the U.S. are also affected, like Airbus, which assembles some of its narrow-body planes in Alabama, but relies on imports.
    Gabrielle Fonrouge,Annika Kim Constantino,Leslie Josephs,Ari Levy,Amelia Lucas,Melissa Repko,Hugh Son,Michael Wayland, CNBC, 23 Apr. 2025

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Cite this Entry

“Gather.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/gather. Accessed 30 Apr. 2025.

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