verb
garnish
GAH-nihsh
verb
1
To decorate a dish of food with a small extra item, or more generally to decorate or embellish something.
"Garnish the soup with a sprig of parsley before serving."
"The cake was garnished with fresh raspberries."
2
To legally withhold part of someone's wages or funds to pay a debt.
"The court ordered his wages to be garnished until the debt was repaid."
noun
1
Something added to a dish for decoration or flavour.
"A slice of lime made the perfect garnish for the drink."
How to Use Garnish
Learner’s notes
Common mistake
Don't confuse with "garner," which means to gather or collect — garnish is about decorating (or legally deducting), not gathering.
Easily confused with
Common pairings
garnish with
garnish wages
Word Forms
garnished past tense, garnishes plural, garnishes singular
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_____ the soup with a sprig of parsley before serving.
Etymology
From Old French garnir, "to furnish, adorn, or defend" — the same root that gives us "garment" and "warn."