gathering

UK: /ˈgæðərɪŋ/ US: /ˈgæðərɪŋ/ ,(gaᵺ′ər ing)

WordReference Random House Learner's Dictionary of American English © 2025

gath•er•ing /ˈgæðərɪŋ/   n. [countable]

1. a group or meeting of people in one place;
   assembly:
   A small gathering watched the game.

adj. [before a noun]

2. approaching:
   a gathering storm.

WordReference Random House Unabridged Dictionary of American English © 2025

gath•er•ing  (gaᵺ′ər ing), n. 

1. an assembly or meeting.
2. an assemblage of people;
   group or crowd.
3. a collection, assemblage, or compilation of anything.
4. the act of a person or thing that gathers.
5. something that is gathered together.
6. a gather or a series of gathers in cloth.
7. an inflamed and suppurating swelling.
8. Building (in a flue, duct, or the like) a tapered section forming a transition between two sections, one of which has a greater area than the other.
9. Printing [Bookbinding.] a section in a book, usually a sheet cut into several leaves.

• Middle English gaderinge, Old English gaderunge. See gather, -ing¹ bef. 900

Synonyms

• 1. assemblage.
• 2. congregation, concourse, company, throng.
• 7. boil, abscess, carbuncle.

Collins Concise English Dictionary © HarperCollins Publishers::

gathering / ˈɡæðərɪŋ/ noun

1. a group of people, things, etc, that are gathered together; assembly
2. a gather or series of gathers in material
3. the formation of pus in a boil
4. the pus so formed
5. an informal name for section17

WordReference Random House Learner's Dictionary of American English © 2025

gath•er /ˈgæðɚ/   v. 

1. to bring or come together into one group, collection, or place;
   collect;
   accumulate: [~ + object]
   to gather firewood.
   [no object]
   A crowd gathered.
2. Agriculture to pick or harvest from a place of growth:
   [~ + object] to gather vegetables from the garden.
3. to pick up piece by piece:
   [~ + object] Gather your toys from the floor.
4. to scoop up:
   [~ + object] She gathered the crying child in her arms.
5. to increase:
   [~ + object] The car quickly gathered speed.
6. to assemble or collect, as for an effort: [~ + object]
   I gathered my energy for one last try.
   [~ + oneself + up]
   He gathered himself up for the effort.
   [~ + up + object]
   She gathered up her courage.
7. to learn or conclude from observation;
   infer;
   deduce;
   understand: [~ + (that) clause]
   I gather that she is the real leader.
   [~ + object]
   He's rich? Yes, I gathered that.
8. to wrap around or bring close to:
   [~ + object] He gathered his scarf around his neck.
9. to pull (cloth) along a thread in fine folds or puckers by means of even stitches:
   [~ + object] She gathered the hem of the dress.

n. [countable]

10. a drawing together;
    contraction.
11. Textiles Often, gathers. [plural] a fold, pleat, or pucker, as in cloth.

gath•er•er, n. [countable]

WordReference Random House Unabridged Dictionary of American English © 2025

gath•er  (gaᵺ′ər), v.t. 

1. to bring together into one group, collection, or place:
   to gather firewood; to gather the troops.
2. to bring together or assemble from various places, sources, or people;
   collect gradually:
   The college is gathering a faculty from all over the country.
3. to serve as a center of attention for;
   attract:
   A good football game always gathers a crowd.
4. Agriculture to pick or harvest (any crop or natural yield) from its place of growth or formation:
   to gather fruit; to gather flowers.
5. to pick up piece by piece:
   Gather your toys from the floor.
6. to pick or scoop up:
   She gathered the crying child in her arms.
7. to collect (as taxes, dues, money owed, etc.).
8. to accumulate;
   increase:
   The storm gathers force. The car gathered speed.
9. to take by selection from among other things;
   sort out;
   cull.
10. to assemble or collect (one's energies or oneself ) as for an effort (often fol. by up):
    He gathered up his strength for the hard job.
11. to learn or conclude from observation;
    infer;
    deduce:
    I gather that he is the real leader.
12. to wrap or draw around or close:
    He gathered his scarf around his neck.
13. to contract (the brow) into wrinkles.
14. to draw (cloth) up on a thread in fine folds or puckers by means of even stitches.
15. Printing [Bookbinding.] to assemble (the printed sections of a book) in proper sequence for binding.
16. Nautical, Naval Terms to gain (way) from a dead stop or extremely slow speed.
17. Metallurgy to increase the sectional area of (stock) by any of various operations.
18. Ceramics [Glassmaking.] to accumulate or collect (molten glass) at the end of a tube for blowing, shaping, etc.

v.i. 

19. to come together around a central point;
    assemble:
    Let's gather round the fire and sing.
20. to collect or accumulate:
    Clouds were gathering in the northeast.
21. to grow, as by accretion;
    increase.
22. Textiles to become contracted into wrinkles, folds, creases, etc., as the brow or as cloth.
23. to come to a head, as a sore in suppurating.
24. Idioms be gathered to one's fathers, to die.

n. 

25. a drawing together;
    contraction.
26. Textiles Often, gathers. a fold or pucker, as in gathered cloth.
27. an act or instance of gathering.
28. an amount or number gathered, as during a harvest.
29. [Glassmaking.] a mass of molten glass attached to the end of a punty.

• bef. 900; Middle English gaderen, Old English gaderian, derivative of geador together, akin to gæd fellowship; compare together, good

gath′er•a•ble, adj. 
gath′er•er, n. 
Synonyms

• 1, 2. accumulate, amass, garner, hoard.
  Gather, assemble, collect, muster, marshal imply bringing or drawing together.
  Gather expresses the general idea usually with no implication of arrangement:
  to gather seashells.
  Assemble is used of objects or facts brought together preparatory to arranging them:
  to assemble data for a report.
  Collect implies purposeful accumulation to form an ordered whole:
  to collect evidence.
  Muster, primarily a military term, suggests thoroughness in the process of collection:
  to muster all one's resources.
  Marshal, another term primarily military, suggests rigorously ordered, purposeful arrangement:
  to marshal facts for effective presentation.
• 4. pluck, crop, reap, glean, garner.
• 11. assume, understand.
• 20. accrete.

Antonyms

• 1, 19. separate, disperse.

Collins Concise English Dictionary © HarperCollins Publishers::

gather / ˈɡæðə/ verb

1. to assemble or cause to assemble
2. to collect or be collected gradually; muster
3. (transitive) to learn from information given; conclude or assume
4. (transitive) to pick or harvest (flowers, fruit, etc)
5. (tr; followed by to or into) to clasp or embrace: the mother gathered the child into her arms
6. (transitive) to bring close (to) or wrap (around): she gathered her shawl about her shoulders
7. to increase or cause to increase gradually, as in force, speed, intensity, etc
8. to contract (the brow) or (of the brow) to become contracted into wrinkles; knit
9. (transitive) to assemble (sections of a book) in the correct sequence for binding
10. (transitive) to collect by making a selection
11. (transitive) to prepare or make ready: to gather one's wits
12. to draw (material) into a series of small tucks or folds by passing a thread through it and then pulling it tight
13. (intransitive) (of a boil or other sore) to come to a head; form pus

noun

1. the act of gathering
2. the amount gathered
3. a small fold in material, as made by a tightly pulled stitch; tuck
4. an informal name for section17

Etymology: Old English gadrian; related to Old Frisian gaderia, Middle Low German gaderen

ˈgatherable adjective

ˈgatherer noun