GATHER

Pronunciation (US):

(GB):

IPA (US):

 Dictionary entry overview: What does gather mean? 

• GATHER (noun)
  The noun GATHER has 2 senses:

1. sewing consisting of small folds or puckers made by pulling tight a thread in a line of stitching

2. the act of gathering something

  Familiarity information: GATHER used as a noun is rare.

• GATHER (verb)
  The verb GATHER has 9 senses:

1. assemble or get together

2. collect in one place

3. collect or gather

4. conclude from evidence

5. draw together into folds or puckers

6. get people together

7. draw and bring closer

8. look for (food) in nature

9. increase or develop

  Familiarity information: GATHER used as a verb is familiar.

 Dictionary entry details 

• GATHER (noun)

Sense 1

Meaning:

Sewing consisting of small folds or puckers made by pulling tight a thread in a line of stitching

Classified under:

Nouns denoting man-made objects

Synonyms:

gather; gathering

Hypernyms ("gather" is a kind of...):

sewing; stitchery (needlework on which you are working with needle and thread)

Derivation:

gather (draw together into folds or puckers)

Sense 2

Meaning:

The act of gathering something

Classified under:

Nouns denoting acts or actions

Synonyms:

gather; gathering

Hypernyms ("gather" is a kind of...):

aggregation; assembling; collecting; collection (the act of gathering something together)

Hyponyms (each of the following is a kind of "gather"):

harvest; harvest home; harvesting (the gathering of a ripened crop)

centralisation; centralization (gathering to a center)

Derivation:

gather (look for (food) in nature)

gather (assemble or get together)

• GATHER (verb)

Conjugation:

Sense 1

Meaning:

Assemble or get together

Classified under:

Verbs of touching, hitting, tying, digging

Synonyms:

collect; garner; gather; pull together

Context example:

pull your thoughts together

Troponyms (each of the following is one way to "gather"):

oyster (gather oysters, dig oysters)

heap up; pile up; stack up (arrange into piles or stacks)

shock (collect or gather into shocks)

clam (gather clams, by digging in the sand by the ocean)

pearl (gather pearls, from oysters in the ocean)

sponge (gather sponges, in the ocean)

nest (gather nests)

bird-nest; birdnest (gather birdnests)

snail (gather snails)

cull; pick; pluck (look for and gather)

round up (seek out and bring together)

come up; muster; muster up; rally; summon (gather or bring together)

salvage; scavenge (collect discarded material)

hive (gather into a hive)

club (gather into a club-like mass)

glean; harvest; reap (gather, as of natural products)

rake (gather with a rake)

marshal; mobilise; mobilize; summon (make ready for action or use)

nut (gather nuts)

Sentence frames:

Somebody ----s something
Somebody ----s somebody
Something ----s something

Antonym:

spread (distribute or disperse widely)

Also:

gather up (take and lift upward)

Derivation:

gather (the act of gathering something)

Sense 2

Meaning:

Collect in one place

Classified under:

Verbs of political and social activities and events

Synonyms:

assemble; foregather; forgather; gather; meet

Context example:

Let's gather in the dining room

Hypernyms (to "gather" is one way to...):

interact (act together or towards others or with others)

Verb group:

come across; encounter; meet; run across; run into; see (come together)

Troponyms (each of the following is one way to "gather"):

meet (meet by design; be present at the arrival of)

club (gather and spend time together)

caucus (meet to select a candidate or promote a policy)

turn out (come and gather for a public event)

converge (move or draw together at a certain location)

crowd; crowd together (to gather together in large numbers)

clump; cluster; constellate; flock (come together as in a cluster or flock)

convene (meet formally)

fort; fort up (gather in, or as if in, a fort, as for protection or defense)

hive (move together in a hive or as if in a hive)

congregate (come together, usually for a purpose)

aggroup; group (form a group or group together)

Sentence frames:

Somebody ----s
Somebody ----s PP

Derivation:

gathering (the social act of assembling)

gathering (a group of persons together in one place)

Sense 3

Meaning:

Collect or gather

Classified under:

Verbs of size, temperature change, intensifying, etc.

Synonyms:

accumulate; amass; conglomerate; cumulate; gather; pile up

Context example:

The work keeps piling up

Hypernyms (to "gather" is one way to...):

increase (become bigger or greater in amount)

Troponyms (each of the following is one way to "gather"):

backlog (accumulate and create a backlog)

accrete (grow or become attached by accretion)

drift (be piled up in banks or heaps by the force of wind or a current)

Sentence frames:

Something ----s
Something is ----ing PP

Derivation:

gathering (the act of gathering something)

Sense 4

Meaning:

Conclude from evidence

Classified under:

Verbs of telling, asking, ordering, singing

Context example:

I gather you have not done your homework

Hypernyms (to "gather" is one way to...):

conclude; reason; reason out (decide by reasoning; draw or come to a conclusion)

Sentence frame:

Somebody ----s that CLAUSE

Sense 5

Meaning:

Draw together into folds or puckers

Classified under:

Verbs of touching, hitting, tying, digging

Synonyms:

gather; pucker; tuck

Hypernyms (to "gather" is one way to...):

run up; sew; sew together; stitch (fasten by sewing; do needlework)

Sentence frame:

Somebody ----s something

Derivation:

gather; gathering (sewing consisting of small folds or puckers made by pulling tight a thread in a line of stitching)

Sense 6

Meaning:

Get people together

Classified under:

Verbs of political and social activities and events

Synonyms:

assemble; gather; get together

Context example:

gather the close family members

Cause:

assemble; foregather; forgather; gather; meet (collect in one place)

Troponyms (each of the following is one way to "gather"):

make (form by assembling individuals or constituents)

Sentence frame:

Somebody ----s somebody

Sentence example:

They want to gather the prisoners

Derivation:

gathering (the social act of assembling)

gathering (a group of persons together in one place)

Sense 7

Meaning:

Draw and bring closer

Classified under:

Verbs of touching, hitting, tying, digging

Context example:

she gathered her shawl around her shoulders

Hypernyms (to "gather" is one way to...):

pull (apply force so as to cause motion towards the source of the motion)

Sentence frame:

Somebody ----s something

Sense 8

Meaning:

Look for (food) in nature

Classified under:

Verbs of touching, hitting, tying, digging

Context example:

Our ancestors gathered nuts in the Fall

Hypernyms (to "gather" is one way to...):

look for; search; seek (try to locate or discover, or try to establish the existence of)

Troponyms (each of the following is one way to "gather"):

shell (look for and collect shells by the seashore)

Sentence frames:

Somebody ----s
Somebody ----s something

Derivation:

gather (the act of gathering something)

gatherer (a person who gathers)

Sense 9

Meaning:

Increase or develop

Classified under:

Verbs of size, temperature change, intensifying, etc.

Synonyms:

gain; gather

Context example:

the car gathers speed

Hypernyms (to "gather" is one way to...):

increase (become bigger or greater in amount)

Sentence frames:

Somebody ----s something
Something ----s something

 Context examples 

They were like the tiniest grains of dust, and they whirled round and gathered in clusters in a nebulous sort of way.

(Dracula, by Bram Stoker)

They were once sitting thus when the little grandson of four years old began to gather together some bits of wood upon the ground.

(Fairy Tales, by The Brothers Grimm)

Among the earth planets gathering at the full moon of March 9 will be your ruler, Mars, now in Capricorn, which is significant.

(AstrologyZone.com, by Susan Miller)

The recent findings are based on an analysis of data taken by 50 research cruises that gathered more than 100,000 water samples.

(Global ocean is absorbing more carbon from fossil fuel emissions, NOAA)

A different team of scientists was able to gather data on the Cow over an even broader range of wavelengths, spanning from radio waves to gamma rays.

(Mysterious Blast Studied with NASA Telescopes, NASA)

I gathered from what they said, that an elder sister of his was coming to stay with them, and that she was expected that evening.

(David Copperfield, by Charles Dickens)

Released to the scientific community, the map visualizes data gathered by U.S. government sensors from 1994 to 2013.

(New Map Shows Frequency of Small Asteroid Impacts, Provides Clues on Larger Asteroid Population, NASA)

InSight's seismometer, which the lander placed on the planet's surface on Dec. 19, 2018, will enable scientists to gather similar data about Mars.

(NASA's InSight Detects First Likely 'Quake' on Mars, NASA)

Outside the pen, men would be gathering, and he knew that a fight was on.

(White Fang, by Jack London)

LADEE was a robotic mission that orbited the Moon to gather detailed information about the structure and composition of the thin lunar atmosphere, and determine whether dust is lofted into the lunar sky.

(Meteoroid Strikes Eject Precious Water From Moon, NASA)