garnishment

IPA/ˈɡɑː.nɪʃ.mənt/
KK[ɡˈɑrnɪʃmənt]IPA/ˈɡɑːr.nɪʃ.mənt/

garnishment — noun

  • garnishmentsingular
  • garnishmentsplural

1. a legal process authorized by a court, in which money is taken directly from a p

1.nounB2
Definition

a legal process authorized by a court, in which money is taken directly from a person's wages or bank savings to repay an unpaid debt — typically by sending an order to their employer or bank

Example

Theo received a wage garnishment notice after falling behind on his credit card payments for six months.

collocation: wage garnishment notice

A bank account garnishment left Dr. Okafor with no way to pay her rent that month.

collocation: bank account garnishment

Common collocations
  • wage garnishment
  • bank account garnishment
  • garnishment order
  • garnishment notice
  • face garnishment
  • garnishment of wages
  • garnishment proceedings
  • garnishment exemption
Synonyms
  • wage attachment

    a near-synonym used in some legal systems, though 'attachment' more broadly refers to seizing property before a court judgment

  • debt collection order

    a broader, less technical term for any court order that compels repayment, not limited to earnings or bank accounts

  • income execution

    used in some U.S. states (e.g. New York) as the technical name for wage garnishment

Antonyms
  • exemption

    a legal protection that prevents certain income (e.g. social security benefits) from being garnished

  • discharge

    in bankruptcy, a judicial ruling that cancels a debt and therefore stops any garnishment related to it

Grammar Patterns

garnishment + of + [wages/bank account]

garnishment + order/notice

Usage Note

Distinguish from lien (a creditor's right to keep property until a debt is repaid) and levy (seizure of property by a tax authority such as the IRS). Garnishment uniquely involves a third party — an employer or bank — who holds the debtor's assets and is legally required — under a court order — to send those assets to the creditor. It is most common in cases of unpaid child support, defaulted student loans, and credit card debt.

Common Mistakes

The bank placed a garnishment on my house.
The bank placed a lien on my house.
Garnishment targets a person's earnings and bank savings, not real estate. A lien is the correct term for a claim against property.
My employer deducted taxes from my pay — that's a garnishment.
Tax deductions from wages are not garnishment.
Garnishment is a court-ordered debt-collection process, not a standard payroll deduction like income tax or social security.

Word family

  • garnish
    verbB2
  • garnishee
    nounC1
  • garnishee
    verbC1

Synonym discussion

Sense: noun/1

Garnishment, lien, levy, and attachment are all legal tools a creditor can use to collect a debt, but they operate differently. A lien gives the creditor a right to keep or sell specific property (such as a house or car) if the debt is not paid, but the creditor does not take the property immediately. A levy is a direct seizure of property — typically by a government tax authority — to satisfy a tax debt. Attachment is a court-ordered seizure of property before a lawsuit is decided, meant to prevent the debtor from hiding assets. Garnishment is unique because it targets money that a third party (an employer or bank) holds for the debtor. For example: "The bank placed a lien on the house, but the court ordered a garnishment of Mr. Chen's wages."

lien ↗levy ↗attachment ↗garnishment ↗

Common collocations

Nouns

  • wage garnishment
  • bank account garnishment
  • garnishment order
  • garnishment notice
  • garnishment proceedings
  • garnishment exemption
  • garnishment rate
  • garnishment limit

Phrases

  • order of garnishment
  • notice of garnishment
  • writ of garnishment
  • face garnishment

Prepositions

  • garnishment of [wages]
  • garnishment against [debtor]
  • subject to garnishment

Etymology

Old FrenchAnglo-FrenchMiddle EnglishModern English

Garnishment comes from the Anglo-French legal term 'garnissement', meaning a warning or summons. It traces back to the Old French verb 'garnir' (to warn, provide, or equip). In medieval English law, a 'garnishment' was a formal warning to a third party who held property belonging to a debtor. Over time, the meaning narrowed to the specific court-ordered deduction from a person's earnings or bank savings that we use today. The earlier sense of 'ornament' or 'embellishment' (from the same root, via 'garnish') is now archaic and unrelated to the modern legal meaning.