Definition of "garnishment" []

• Law A legal proceeding whereby money or property due a debtor but in the possession of another is applied to the payment of the debt owed to the plaintiff. (noun)
• Law A court order directing a third party who holds money or property belonging to a defendant to withhold it and appear in court to answer inquiries. (noun)
• Ornamentation; embellishment. (noun)

American Heritage(R) Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright (c) 2011 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

• "Lewis, with Roetzel & Andress law firm, attempted to seize money from the developer's bank accounts, through a legal tactic known as garnishment, to get the money owed to Lopez, Chaparro and Rodriguez-Storer."
• "Your garnishment is the end result of a long series of letters, calls, summons and court actions on behalf of the creditor to get either of you to step up and pay what is owed or to negotiate a mutually acceptable, debt is between six months and a year old or older."
• "The apparent relationship between so-called garnishment laws and states 'bankruptcy rates also bolsters the arguments of consumer advocates, who have long said that intercepting someone's wages to pay their debts only increases their financial vulnerability."