gather

gath|er¹ W2S2 [ˈgæðə US -ər] v

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1¦(come together)¦

2¦(know/think)¦

3¦(collect)¦

4 gather speed/force/momentum etc

5 gather dust

6¦(cloth)¦

7 gather yourself/your strength/your thoughts

8¦(clouds/darkness)¦

9 gather somebody to you/gather somebody up

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[: Old English; Origin: gaderian]

1.) ¦(COME TOGETHER)¦ [I and T]

to come together and form a group, or to make people do this

▪ A crowd gathered to watch the fight.

▪ Thousands of people gathered outside the embassy.

gather around/round

▪ Gather round, everyone, so that you can see the screen.

▪ During the air raids, we gathered the children around us and sang songs.

gather together

▪ Could the bride's family all gather together for a photo?

be gathered

▪ Dozens of photographers were gathered outside Jagger's villa.

2.) ¦(KNOW/THINK)¦ [I,T not in progressive]

to believe that something is true because of what you have seen or heard

= ↑understand

▪ You two know each other, I gather.

gather (that)

▪ I gather you've had some problems with our sales department.

from what I can gather/as far as I can gather

(=this is what I believe to be true)

▪ She's his niece, from what I can gather.

3.) ¦(COLLECT)¦ [I and T]

to get things from different places and put them together in one place

▪ The researcher's job is to gather information about people.

▪ They had gathered 440,000 signatures to support their demand.

gather up/together

▪ Debbie gathered up the clothes.

4.) gather speed/force/momentum etc

to move faster, become stronger, get more support etc

▪ The cart gathered speed as it coasted down the hill.

▪ The international relief effort appears to be gathering momentum.

5.) gather dust

if something gathers dust, it is not being used

▪ You may as well take these books - they're just gathering dust on the shelf.

6.) ¦(CLOTH)¦ [T]

a) to pull material into small folds

▪ The skirt is gathered at the waist.

b) to pull material or a piece of clothing closer to you

▪ Moira gathered her skirts round her and climbed the steps.

7.) gather yourself/your strength/your thoughts

to prepare yourself for something you are going to do, especially something difficult

▪ I took a few moments to gather my thoughts before going into the meeting.

8.) ¦(CLOUDS/DARKNESS)¦

[i]literary to gradually become more cloudy or get darker

▪ Storm clouds were gathering so we hurried home.

the gathering darkness/dusk/shadows etc

▪ the evening's gathering shadows

9.) gather sb to you/gather sb up

literary to take someone into your arms and hold them in order to protect them or show them love

gather ²

gather² n

a small fold produced by pulling cloth together