gather
gather
verb (gather, gather, gather, gather)
/ˈɡæðə(r)/
come/bring together
1 intransitive, transitive to come together, or bring people together, in one place to form a group
A crowd soon gathered.
+ adv./prep. His supporters gathered in the main square.
Can you all gather round? I've got something to tell you.
The whole family gathered together at Ray's home.
be gathered + adv./prep. They were all gathered round the TV.
A large crowd was gathered outside the studio.
The kids were gathered together in one room.
They are all gathering for a major conference.
The boys gathered around the car.
Collocations
adverb
hastily
hurriedly
quickly
2 transitive to bring things together that have been spread around
gather something People slowly gathered their belongings and left the hall.
I waited while he gathered up his papers.
gather something together She gathered her things together and got to her feet.
Synonyms collect
collect
3 transitive gather something to collect information from different sources
to gather information/data/intelligence
Detectives have spent months gathering evidence.
4 transitive gather something to collect plants, fruit, etc. from a wide area
to gather wild flowers
They lived in the forest, gathering mushrooms and berries to eat.
crops/harvest
5 ​transitive gather something (in) (formal or literary) to pick or cut and collect crops to be stored
It was late August and the harvest had been safely gathered in.
believe/understand
6 ​transitive (not used in the progressive tenses) to believe or understand that something is true because of information or evidence you have
gather (that)… I gather (that) you wanted to see me.
I gather from your letter that you're not enjoying your job.
gather (something) ‘There's been a delay.’ ‘I gathered that.’
‘She won't be coming.’ ‘So I gather.’
You're self-employed, I gather.
As far as I can gather, he got involved in a fight.
From what I can gather, there's been some kind of problem.
increase
7 ​transitive gather something to increase in speed, force, etc.
The truck gathered speed.
During the 1980s the green movement gathered momentum.
Thousands of these machines are gathering dust (= not being used) in stockrooms.
As the weeks passed, Charlotte began to gather strength.
Collocations
adverb
quickly
rapidly
slowly
verb + gather
begin to
start to
continue to
of clouds/darkness
8 ​intransitive to gradually increase in number or amount
The storm clouds were gathering.
the gathering gloom of a winter’s afternoon
clothing
9 ​transitive to pull a piece of clothing tighter to your body
gather something around you/something He gathered his cloak around him.
gather something up She gathered up her skirts and ran.
10 ​transitive gather something (in) to pull parts of a piece of clothing together in folds and sew them in place
She wore a skirt gathered (in) at the waist.
hold somebody
11 ​transitive gather somebody + adv./prep. to pull somebody towards you and put your arms around them
She gathered the child in her arms and held him close.
He gathered her to him.
He gathered her close and kissed her.
prepare yourself
12 ​transitive gather something/yourself to prepare yourself to do something that requires effort
I sat down for a moment to gather my strength.
She was still trying to gather her thoughts together when the door opened.
Fortunately the short delay gave him time to gather himself.
breath
13 ​gather your breath to get your breath back after an effort
He paused to gather his breath.
Idioms
collect/gather dust
a rolling stone gathers no moss
Word Origin
Old English gaderian, of West Germanic origin; related to Dutch gaderen, also to together.