garb

1 of 2

noun

ˈgärb 

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

Noun

• costume
• attire
• clothes
• dress

Verb

• clothe
• dress
• attire
• costume
• apparel
• gown
• garment

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

Noun

Julian took advantage of the whole experience and donned the helmet and flack jacket, while Alina was happier posing in her civilian garb for pictures. — Michelle L. Quinn, Chicago Tribune, 5 Aug. 2026

Experts point out that there are no known examples of this sort of clothing in comparable sculptures from Anatolia or mainland Greece, so the garb reflects a local tradition distinct to the ancient kingdom of Lydia. — Brian Boucher, ARTnews.com, 4 Aug. 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

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

Rhymes for garb

• arb
• barb
• barbe
• aldicarb
• rhubarb

Kids Definition

garb

noun

ˈgärb

1

: style of dress

2

: outward form : appearance

garb verb