Standard Lemma guide

garnishment

noun · 2 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

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  • CMU ARPABET: G AA1 R N IH0 SH M AH0 N T Digits mark lexical stress: 1 primary, 2 secondary, 0 unstressed.

1

noun

Meaning 1

A judgment that a third party should pay money owing to a defendant directly to a plaintiff.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Usage: countable, uncountable

Topics: law

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

2

noun

Meaning 2

a court order to an employer to withhold all or part of an employee's wages and to send the money to the court or to the person who won a lawsuit against the employee

Definition source: Princeton WordNet 3.0

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

Broader terms: court order

History

Etymology

Etymology tree English garnish Proto-Indo-European *-mn̥ Proto-Indo-European *-mn̥tom Proto-Italic *-mentom Latin -mentum Old French -mentbor. Middle English -ment English -ment English garnishment From garnish + -ment.

Across languages

Translations

5 source translations are retained for this English entry.

  • German: Pfändung — a judgment that a third party should pay money owing to a defendant directly to a plaintiff
  • German: Zahlungsverbot an den Drittschuldner — a judgment that a third party should pay money owing to a defendant directly to a plaintiff
  • Hungarian: fizetésletiltás — a judgment that a third party should pay money owing to a defendant directly to a plaintiff
  • Hungarian: letiltás — a judgment that a third party should pay money owing to a defendant directly to a plaintiff
  • Polish: zajęcie — a judgment that a third party should pay money owing to a defendant directly to a plaintiff