Meaning & use
garnishment
Last updated
A legal procedure in which a portion of a person's wages or property is withheld, usually by court order, to pay off a debt.
See it in a sentence
The court ordered a wage garnishment to recover the unpaid child support.
After ignoring several notices, the company faced a bank account garnishment for its overdue taxes.
A note on using this word
Often confused with "garnish" in its culinary sense — this legal meaning is unrelated and specifically refers to court-mandated debt collection.
Words with a similar meaning
withholding
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