gather
[verb]
Synonyms:
- assemble, accumulate, amass, collect, garner, mass, muster, stockpile
- learn, assume, conclude, deduce, hear, infer, surmise, understand
- pick, cull, garner, glean, harvest, pluck, reap, select
- intensify, deepen, expand, grow, heighten, increase, rise, swell, thicken
- fold, pleat, tuck

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Antonyms: scatter
Contrasted words: dispel, disperse, dissipate, break up, disband, part, separate, disintegrate, disorganize, dissolve
Related Idioms: separate the wheat from the chaff (or the sheep from the goats), put two and two together
Related Words: choose, cull, pick, select, accumulate, amass, pluck, heap, mass, pile, stack, catch, fathom, follow, grasp, take in, aggregate, troop, affiliate, ally, associate, league, encounter, meet

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English Thesaurus: collect, gather, assemble, build up, accumulate, ...

[TahlilGaran] English Synonym Dictionary ▲

I. gath‧er¹ S3 W2 /ˈɡæðə $ -ər/ verb
[Language: Old English; Origin: gaderian]

1. COME TOGETHER [intransitive and transitive] to come together and form a group, or to make people do this:
A crowd gathered to watch the fight.
Thousands of people gathered outside the embassy.
gather around/round
Gather round, everyone, so that you can see the screen.
During the air raids, we gathered the children around us and sang songs.
gather together
Could the bride’s family all gather together for a photo?
be gathered
Dozens of photographers were gathered outside Jagger’s villa.

2. KNOW/THINK [intransitive, transitive not in progressive] to believe that something is true because of what you have seen or heard Synonym : understand:
You two know each other, I gather.
gather (that)
I gather you’ve had some problems with our sales department.
from what I can gather/as far as I can gather (=this is what I believe to be true)
She’s his niece, from what I can gather.

3. COLLECT [intransitive and transitive] to get things from different places and put them together in one place:
The researcher’s job is to gather information about people.
They had gathered 440,000 signatures to support their demand.
gather up/together
Debbie gathered up the clothes.

4. gather speed/force/momentum etc to move faster, become stronger, get more support etc:
The cart gathered speed as it coasted down the hill.
The international relief effort appears to be gathering momentum.

5. gather dust if something gathers dust, it is not being used:
books just gathering dust on the shelf

6. CLOTH [transitive]
a) to pull material into small folds:
The skirt is gathered at the waist.
b) to pull material or a piece of clothing closer to you:
Moira gathered her skirts round her and climbed the steps.

7. gather yourself/your strength/your thoughts to prepare yourself for something you are going to do, especially something difficult:
I took a few moments to gather my thoughts before going into the meeting.

8. CLOUDS/DARKNESS [intransitive] literary to gradually become more cloudy or get darker:
Storm clouds were gathering so we hurried home.
the gathering darkness/dusk/shadows etc
the evening’s gathering shadows

9. gather somebody to you/gather somebody up literary to take someone into your arms and hold them in order to protect them or show them love

[TahlilGaran] Dictionary of Contemporary English ▲

II. gather² noun [countable]
a small fold produced by pulling cloth together

[TahlilGaran] Dictionary of Contemporary English ▲

gather
verb
I. come together in a group
ADV. quickly | around/round, together
PREP. about/around/round The boys gathered around the car.
for They are all gathering for a major conference.

[TahlilGaran] Collocations Dictionary ▲

gather
II. bring people/things together
ADV. hastily, quickly She hastily gathered all her belongings together.
carefully | together, up

[TahlilGaran] Collocations Dictionary ▲

gather
III. increase
ADV. quickly, rapidly The movement for reform rapidly gathered momentum.
slowly | steadily
VERB + GATHER begin to, start to As the weeks passed, Charlotte began to gather strength.

[TahlilGaran] Collocations Dictionary ▲

collect to get things of the same type from different places and bring them together:
She collects stamps (=as a hobby).
They have collected 650 signatures for their petition.
gather to collect information from different places, or to collect crops, flowers, wood etc, especially from the ground:
Computers make it easier to gather information.
The men gathered firewood.
assemble formal to collect something such as information in an organized way:
When all the evidence is assembled, we will write our report.
build up to gradually collect more things of the same type over time:
He has built up one of the country’s finest collections of art.
accumulate to gradually get more and more of something such as money, possessions, or knowledge, over time. Accumulate is more formal than build up:
He is driven by the desire to accumulate wealth.
amass to collect a large amount of something such as money, information, or knowledge, over time:
Carnegie amassed a fortune in the steel industry.
run up a bill/debt/loss informal to allow a debt to increase quickly, especially by spending too much:
He ran up huge gambling debts.

[TahlilGaran] English Thesaurus ▲

meet to be in the same place as someone else because you have arranged to see them:
I’ll meet you at the restaurant, OK?
The two leaders are scheduled to meet again next month.
get together informal to meet with a group of people, in order to do something together:
Why don’t we all get together and go out for a drink?
Have the students get together in groups of four to work on the problem.
come together if people come together, they meet in order to discuss things, exchange ideas etc:
Goldman persuaded the heads of the groups to come together for an informal conference.
meet up informal if friends meet up, they meet in order to do something together:
We must meet up some time.
Why don’t I meet up with you after lunch?
gather if people gather somewhere, they come together in the same place in order to do something or see something:
Fans have started to gather outside the stadium.
Angry crowds gathered in front of the US embassy.
assemble formal if people assemble somewhere, they all come and stand together in the same place, especially as part of an officially arranged plan:
If the fire alarm rings, please assemble in the parking lot.
The students began to assemble in the main hall.

[TahlilGaran] English Thesaurus ▲

gather
ˈɡæðə
See: rolling stone gathers no moss

[TahlilGaran] English Idioms Dictionary ▲