Definitions

from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition.

  • noun A legal proceeding in which a plaintiff seeks the satisfaction of a debt by obtaining a judgment that directs a third party in possession of the property of the defendant to make it available to satisfy the judgment.
  • noun A court order directing a third party to make such property available.
  • noun A decoration or ornamentation.

from The Century Dictionary.

  • noun That which garnishes; ornament; embellishment.
  • noun In law, warning; notice given in course of proceedings at law to a third person who should be brought in or have opportunity to come in as a party.
  • noun A fee. See garnish, n., 5.

from the GNU version of the Collaborative International Dictionary of English.

  • noun Ornament; embellishment; decoration.
  • noun Warning, or legal notice, to one to appear and give information to the court on any matter.
  • noun Warning to a person in whose hands the effects of another are attached, not to pay the money or deliver the goods to the defendant, but to appear in court and give information as garnishee.
  • noun A fee. See Garnish, n., 4.

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.

  • noun law A judgment that a third party should pay money owing to a defendant directly to a plaintiff.

from WordNet 3.0 Copyright 2006 by Princeton University. All rights reserved.

  • noun 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

Etymologies

Sorry, no etymologies found.

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Examples

  • Lewis, with Roetzel & Andress law firm, attempted to seize money from the developer's bank accounts, through a legal tactic known as garnishment, to get the money owed to Lopez, Chaparro and Rodriguez-Storer.

    The Seattle Times 2011

  • Your garnishment is the end result of a long series of letters, calls, summons and court actions on behalf of the creditor to get either of you to step up and pay what is owed or to negotiate a mutually acceptable, debt is between six months and a year old or older.

    The Dollar Stretcher Featured Content 2010

  • The apparent relationship between so-called garnishment laws and states 'bankruptcy rates also bolsters the arguments of consumer advocates, who have long said that intercepting someone's wages to pay their debts only increases their financial vulnerability.

    KansasCity.com: Front Page 2009

  • The apparent relationship between so-called garnishment laws and states 'bankruptcy rates also bolsters the arguments of consumer advocates, who have long said that intercepting someone's wages to pay their debts only increases their financial vulnerability.

    LJWorld.com stories: News By Mike Baker - Associated Press Writer 2009

  • The apparent relationship between so-called garnishment laws and states 'bankruptcy rates also bolsters the arguments of consumer advocates, who have long said that intercepting someone's wages to pay their debts only increases their financial vulnerability.

    WTOP / Business / Biz Stories 2009

  • The apparent relationship between so-called garnishment laws and states 'bankruptcy rates also bolsters the arguments of consumer advocates, who have long said that intercepting someone's wages to pay their debts only increases their financial vulnerability.

    Reflector - Latest Headlines from The Daily Reflector 2009

  • The apparent relationship between so-called garnishment laws and states 'bankruptcy rates also bolsters the arguments of consumer advocates, who have long said that intercepting someone's wages to pay their debts only increases their financial vulnerability.

    unknown title 2009

  • The apparent relationship between so-called garnishment laws and states 'bankruptcy rates also bolsters the arguments of consumer advocates, who have long said that intercepting someone's wages to pay their debts only increases their financial vulnerability.

    unknown title 2009

  • The apparent relationship between so-called garnishment laws and states 'bankruptcy rates also bolsters the arguments of consumer advocates, who have long said that intercepting someone's wages to pay their debts only increases their financial vulnerability.

    WTOP / Business / Biz Stories 2009

  • Can you directly quote Hillary calling it "garnishment"?

    Elizabeth Edwards: "I Just Have More Confidence" In Hillary On Health Care 2009

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