garb

1 of 2

noun

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

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
Listen to this article A trio of troublemakers sped through Williamsburg, Brooklyn, in a white car shooting pellet guns and gel guns at people dressed in traditional Hasidic Jewish garb, hitting at least seven persons over a two-day possible hate crime spree, a police source said. Nicholas Williams, New York Daily News, 19 Apr. 2025 Wearing such garb as a form of peaceful protest is constitutionally protected free speech. Jeannie Suk Gersen, New Yorker, 15 Apr. 2025
Verb
The crowd of songwriters, publishers and other industry members, all garbed in suits and elegant dresses, immediately rose to their feet, clapping and singing along to Owen’s lyrics of flowing rivers, rustic Cajun hideaways and playing baseball with chert rocks. Jessica Nicholson, Billboard, 20 Nov. 2024 People gather expectantly on the streets or gaze from their windows, and then the performers arrive, all garbed in red devil costumes, complete with horns and pitchforks covered in sparkling fireworks. Matt Ralphs, Smithsonian Magazine, 10 Oct. 2024 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

Browse Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

“Garb.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/garb. Accessed 25 Apr. 2025.

Kids Definition

garb

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

More from Merriam-Webster on garb

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