garnishment

[ gahr-nish-muhnt ]

noun

1. Law.
   1. a warning, served on a third party to hold, subject to the court's direction, money or property belonging to a debtor who is being sued by a creditor.
   2. a summons to a third party to appear in litigation pending between a creditor and debtor.
2. adornment or decoration.

garnishment

/ ˈɡɑːnɪʃmənt /

noun

1. the act of garnishing
2. decoration or embellishment; garnish
3. law
   1. a notice or warning
   2. a summons to court proceedings already in progress
   3. a notice warning a person holding money or property belonging to a debtor whose debt has been attached to hold such property until directed by the court to apply it

Word History and Origins

Origin of garnishment¹

First recorded in 1540–50; garnish + -ment

Example Sentences

If the employer is working somewhere else, the agency can direct that their wages be withheld in order to pay the funds owed to L&I, a process called wage garnishment.

From Seattle Times

If you continue to ignore notices, the IRS may resort to severe measures, including tax liens, wage garnishment, asset seizure and passport restrictions.

From Seattle Times

They are exempt from garnishment and levy in most cases.

From Encyclopedia.com

In addition, the full value of a person’s tax refund is subject to garnishment.

From Encyclopedia.com

Besides Texas, which doesn’t allow the garnishment of pay, your employer, an asset holder or bank can garnish your pay as long as the required documents have been executed.

From Encyclopedia.com