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gather

   Also found in: Idioms, Encyclopedia, Wikipedia, Hutchinson 0.04 sec.
gath·er  (gr)
v. gath·ered, gath·er·ing, gath·ers
v.tr.
1. To cause to come together; convene: The teacher gathered the students around the exhibit.
2.
a. To accumulate (something) gradually; amass: The top of the bookshelf gathered dust.
b. To harvest or pick: gather flowers; gather wild foods.
3. To gain by a process of gradual increase: gather speed.
4. To collect into one place; assemble.
5. To pick up and enfold: gathered the kittens into her arms.
6. Printing To arrange (signatures) in sequence for bookbinding.
7.
a. To draw into small folds or puckers, as by pulling a thread through cloth.
b. To contract and wrinkle (the brow).
8. To draw about or bring (one thing) closer to something else: gathered the shawl about my shoulders.
9. To conclude; infer: I gather that a decision has not been reached.
10. To summon up; muster: gathered up his courage.
11. To attract or be a center of attraction for: The parade gathered a large crowd.
v.intr.
1. To come together in a group; assemble: A crowd gathered in the lobby.
2. To accumulate: Dark clouds are gathering.
3. To grow or increase by degrees.
4. To come to a head, as a boil; fester.
5. To forage for wild foodstuffs.
n.
1.
a. The act or an instance of gathering.
b. A quantity gathered.
2. A small fold or pucker made by gathering cloth.

[Middle English getheren, gaderen, from Old English gadrian; see ghedh- in Indo-European roots.]

gather·er n.
Synonyms: gather, collect1, assemble, congregate, accumulate, amass
These verbs mean to bring or come together in a group or aggregate. Gather is the most widely applicable: I gathered sticks for the fire. Clouds gathered in the evening sky.
Collect
frequently refers to the careful selection of like or related things that become part of an organized whole: She collects stamps as a hobby. Tears collected in his eyes.
Assemble implies a definite and usually close relationship. With respect to persons, the term suggests convening out of common interest or purpose: Assembling an able staff was more difficult than expected. The reporters assembled for the press conference.
With respect to things, assemble implies gathering and fitting together components: The curator is assembling an interesting exhibit of Stone Age artifacts.
Congregate refers chiefly to the coming together of a large number of persons or animals: The students congregated after class to compare notes.
Accumulate applies to the increase of like or related things over an extended period: They accumulated enough capital to invest. Old newspapers accumulated in the basement.
Amass refers to the collection or accumulation of things, often valuable things, to form an imposing quantity: Their families had amassed great fortunes. Rocks had amassed at the bottom of the glacier. See Also Synonyms at reap.

gather
Verb
1. to come or bring together
2. to increase gradually in (pace, speed, or momentum)
3. to prepare oneself for a task or challenge by collecting one's thoughts, strength, or courage
4. to learn from information given; conclude: this is pretty important, I gather
5. to draw (fabric) into small folds or tucks
6. to pick or harvest (crops)
Noun
gathers small folds or tucks in fabric [Old English gadrian]
ThesaurusLegend:  Synonyms Related Words Antonyms
Noun1.gather - sewing consisting of small folds or puckers made by pulling tight a thread in a line of stitching
stitchery, sewing - needlework on which you are working with needle and thread; "she put her sewing back in the basket"
2.gather - the act of gathering something
assembling, collecting, aggregation, collection - the act of gathering something together
centralisation, centralization - gathering to a center
harvest home, harvesting, harvest - the gathering of a ripened crop
Verb1.gather - assemble or get together; "gather some stones"; "pull your thoughts together"
mobilize, marshal, mobilise, summon - make ready for action or use; "marshal resources"
rake - gather with a rake; "rake leaves"
glean, harvest, reap - gather, as of natural products; "harvest the grapes"
club - gather into a club-like mass; "club hair"
hive - gather into a hive; "The beekeeper hived the swarm"
salvage, scavenge - collect discarded or refused material; "She scavenged the garbage cans for food"
muster, muster up, rally, summon, come up - gather or bring together; "muster the courage to do something"; "she rallied her intellect"; "Summon all your courage"
round up - seek out and bring together; "round up some loyal followers"
cull, pick, pluck - look for and gather; "pick mushrooms"; "pick flowers"
nut - gather nuts
snail - gather snails; "We went snailing in the summer"
bird-nest, birdnest - gather birdnests; "They went birdnesting in the early morning"
nest - gather nests
oyster - gather oysters, dig oysters
sponge - gather sponges, in the ocean
pearl - gather pearls, from oysters in the ocean
clam - gather clams, by digging in the sand by the ocean
shock - collect or gather into shocks; "shock grain"
heap up, stack up, pile up - arrange into piles or stacks; "She piled up her books in my living room"
gather up, lift up, pick up - take and lift upward
spread, distribute - distribute or disperse widely; "The invaders spread their language all over the country"
2.gather - collect in one place; "We assembled in the church basement"; "Let's gather in the dining room"
aggroup, group - form a group or group together
meet - meet by design; be present at the arrival of; "Can you meet me at the train station?"
encounter, meet, run across, come across, run into, see - come together; "I'll probably see you at the meeting"; "How nice to see you again!"
congregate - come together, usually for a purpose; "The crowds congregated in front of the Vatican on Christmas Eve"
hive - move together in a hive or as if in a hive; "The bee swarms are hiving"
fort, fort up - gather in, or as if in, a fort, as for protection or defense
convene - meet formally; "The council convened last week"
cluster, constellate, flock, clump - come together as in a cluster or flock; "The poets constellate in this town every summer"
crowd together, crowd - to gather together in large numbers; "men in straw boaters and waxed mustaches crowded the verandah"
converge - move or draw together at a certain location; "The crowd converged on the movie star"
interact - act together or towards others or with others; "He should interact more with his colleagues"
turn out - come and gather for a public event; "Hundreds of thousands turned out for the anti-war rally in New York"
caucus - meet to select a candidate or promote a policy
club - gather and spend time together; "They always club together"
3.gathergather - collect or gather; "Journals are accumulating in my office"; "The work keeps piling up"
increase - become bigger or greater in amount; "The amount of work increased"
backlog - accumulate and create a backlog
accrete - grow or become attached by accretion; "The story accreted emotion"
drift - be piled up in banks or heaps by the force of wind or a current; "snow drifting several feet high"; "sand drifting like snow"
4.gather - conclude from evidence; "I gather you have not done your homework"
conclude, reason, reason out - decide by reasoning; draw or come to a conclusion; "We reasoned that it was cheaper to rent than to buy a house"
5.gather - draw together into folds or puckers
sew, sew together, stitch, run up - fasten by sewing; do needlework
6.gather - get people together; "assemble your colleagues"; "get together all those who are interested in the project"; "gather the close family members"
make - form by assembling individuals or constituents; "Make a quorum"
7.gather - draw and bring closer; "she gathered her shawl around her shoulders"
pull - apply force so as to cause motion towards the source of the motion; "Pull the rope"; "Pull the handle towards you"; "pull the string gently"; "pull the trigger of the gun"; "pull your knees towards your chin"
8.gather - look for (food) in nature; "Our ancestors gathered nuts in the Fall"
look for, search, seek - try to locate or discover, or try to establish the existence of; "The police are searching for clues"; "They are searching for the missing man in the entire county"
shell - look for and collect shells by the seashore
9.gather - increase or develop; "the peace movement gained momentum"; "the car gathers speed"
increase - become bigger or greater in amount; "The amount of work increased"

gather
verb 2. assemble, group, collect, round up, marshal, bring together, muster, convene, call together << OPPOSITE disperse
verb 6. understand, believe, hear, learn, assume, take it, conclude, presume, be informed, infer, deduce, surmise, be led to believe
Translations
Spanish gather [ˈgæðəʳ] vt [+ flowers, fruit] → coger (SP); recoger (LAM) (= assemble); reunir (= pick up); recoger;
(SEWING) → fruncir (= understand); sacar en consecuencia
vi (= assemble) → reunirse; [dust] → acumularse; [clouds] → cerrarse;
to gather speed → ganar velocidad;
to gather (from/that) → deducir (por/que);
as far as I can gather → por lo que tengo entendido

French gather [ˈgæðəʳ] vt [+ flowers, fruit] → cueillir (= pick up); ramasser (= assemble) [+ objects] → rassembler: [+ people]; réunir: [+ information]; recueillir (= understand); comprendre;
(Sewing) → froncer
vi (= assemble) → se rassembler; [dust] → s'amasser; [clouds] → s'amonceler;
to gather (from/that) → conclure or déduire (de/que);
as far as I can gather → d'après ce que je comprends;
to gather speed → prendre de la vitesse

German gather [ˈgæðəʳ] vtsammeln;
(flowers, fruit) → pflücken;
(understand) → schließen;
(Sewing) → kräuseln
vi (assemble) → sich versammeln;
(dust) → sich ansammeln;
(clouds) → sich zusammenziehen;
to gather (from) → schließen (aus);
to gather (that) → annehmen(, dass);
as far as I can gather → so wie ich es sehe;
to gather speed → schneller werden

Italian gather [ˈgæðəʳ] vt [+ flowers, fruit] → cogliere (= pick up); raccogliere (= assemble); radunare; raccogliere (= understand); capire
vi (= assemble) → radunarsi; [dust] → accumularsi; [clouds] → addensarsi;
to gather speed → acquistare velocità;
to gather (from/that) → comprendere (da/che), dedurre (da/che);
as far as I can gather → da quel che ho potuto capire

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A RATTLESNAKE came home to his brood and said: "My children, gather about and receive your father's last blessing, and see how a Christian dies.
If the woman would only leave her work for an instant he could drop down, gather up a handful, and be back in the tree again before she drew three breaths.
I gather the larkspur Over the hillside, Blown mid the chaos Of boulder and bellbine; Hating the tyrant Who made me an outcast, Who of his leisure Now spares me no moment: Drinking the mountain spring, Shading at noon-day Under the cypress My limbs from the sun glare.
 
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