gather: Meaning and Definition of

gath•er

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. 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&hasp;) 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. to assemble (the printed sections of a book) in proper sequence for binding.
16. to gain (way) from a dead stop or extremely slow speed.
17. to increase the sectional area of (stock) by any of various operations.
18. to accumulate or collect (molten glass) at the end of a tube for blowing, shaping, etc.

1. to come together around a central point; assemble: Let's gather round the fire and sing.
2. to collect or accumulate: Clouds were gathering in the northeast.
3. to grow, as by accretion; increase.
4. to become contracted into wrinkles, folds, creases, etc., as the brow or as cloth.
5. to come to a head, as a sore in suppurating.
6. to die.

1. a drawing together; contraction.
2. Often,a fold or pucker, as in gathered cloth.
3. an act or instance of gathering.
4. an amount or number gathered, as during a harvest.
5. a mass of molten glass attached to the end of a punty.