Definition of "garnishee" [gar•nish•ee]

• A third party who has been notified that money or property in his or her hands but belonging to a defendant has been seized by legal writ. (noun)
• To seize by garnishment: garnishee a debtor's wages. (verb-transitive)
• To serve with a garnishment: garnishee an employer. (verb-transitive)

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.

• "LIMITED RECOURSE Contracts for federal student loans stipulate severe penalties and are virtually unbreakable, forgiven only in death, not bankruptcy, and enforced by severe measures, such as garnishee and other legal sanctions, with little recourse."
• "Councils to help themselves to your bank account only a small piece in the Telegraph but the implications are writ large- Defy the State and we will 'garnishee' your bank account and wreck your credit record."
• "Schussler called for a limit on "garnishee" orders - money taken off employees 'pay cheques to settle debts."