garnishment

gar·nish·ment  (gärnsh-mnt)

n.

1. Law

a. A legal proceeding whereby money or property due a debtor but in the possession of another is applied to the payment of the debt owed to the plaintiff.

b. A court order directing a third party who holds money or property belonging to a defendant to withhold it and appear in court to answer inquiries.

2. Ornamentation; embellishment.

Thesaurus

Noun

1.

garnishment - 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 court order - a writ issued by a court of law requiring a person to do something or to refrain from doing something law, jurisprudence - the collection of rules imposed by authority; "civilization presupposes respect for the law"; "the great problem for jurisprudence to allow freedom while enforcing order"