garnishment
/ˈɡɑː.nɪʃ.mənt/ (bre, ipa) · /ˈɡɑːr.nɪʃ.mənt/ (ame, ipa) · /ˈgär-nish-mənt/ (ame, mw)
garnishment — noun
- garnishmentsingular
- garnishmentsplural
1. a legal process authorized by a court, in which money is taken directly from a p
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
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
The judge issued a garnishment order directing Mr. Johansson's employer to withhold his wages until the student loan was repaid.
A garnishment took twenty-five percent of Mrs. Kowalski's weekly paycheck after she fell behind on her medical bills.
- 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
文法句型
garnishment + of + [wages/bank account]
garnishment + order/notice
用法筆記
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.