Phrase guide

garden path

noun · verb · 3 senses · updated from the 2026-07-25 local source snapshot

Definitions and examples are grouped by meaning. Pronunciation, history, word forms, translations, descendants, synonyms, antonyms, derived terms, and related words appear whenever the source provides them.

Sound

Pronunciation

Each Play button uses your device's default local English voice, or a natural local fallback. The selected voice name appears after playback. This is synthesized speech, not a source recording.

No pronunciation record was provided for this word.

1

noun

Meaning 1

Used other than figuratively or idiomatically: see garden, path.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

2

noun

Meaning 2

Ellipsis of garden path sentence.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Usage: abbreviation, alt-of, ellipsis

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

3

verb

Meaning 3

Alternative form of garden-path.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Usage: alt-of, alternative

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

History

Etymology

No etymology was provided for this word.

Across languages

Translations

7 source translations are retained for this English entry.

  • Danish: havegang — path in a garden
  • Danish: havesti — path in a garden
  • Italian: vialetto — path in a garden
  • Norwegian Bokmål: hagegang — path in a garden
  • Norwegian Nynorsk: hagegang — path in a garden
  • Polish: ścieżka ogrodowa — path in a garden
  • Ukrainian: садо́ва дорі́жка (sadóva dorížka) — path in a garden