garden

garden — noun

1. an outdoor area next to a home where people grow flowers, keep ornamental plants

1.nounA1
Definition

an outdoor area next to a home where people grow flowers, keep ornamental plants, and often have a grass lawn

Example

The children played in the garden behind their house every evening.

collocation: in the garden

Élise planted roses and tulips along the edge of her garden.

Common collocations
  • in the garden
  • back garden
  • front garden
  • garden path
  • garden shed
  • garden fence
  • garden gate
  • flower garden
Synonyms
  • backyard

    American English term for the garden area behind a house; often just lawn with fewer plants

  • yard

    broader term for any outdoor area around a house, may not contain plants or flowers

  • lawn

    refers specifically to the grass area, not the flowers or vegetable beds

Grammar Patterns

the garden

garden + noun (garden path, garden shed)

in the garden

Usage Note

In British English, garden usually refers to the whole outdoor area around a house including lawn and flower beds. In American English, that area is more often called a yard, with garden reserved for the planted flower or vegetable beds.

Common Mistakes

I sat in the garden under the tree.
I sat under the tree in the garden.
'in the garden' is the standard position phrase, not 'in garden' without an article.

2. a small area used for growing vegetables, herbs, or fruit, usually located in a

2.nounA2
Definition

a small area used for growing vegetables, herbs, or fruit, usually located in a yard

Example

Quinn grew tomatoes and basil in the small garden behind the apartment.

collocation: grow [crops] in the garden

Every spring the Chang family planted a new vegetable garden in their yard.

Common collocations
  • vegetable garden
  • kitchen garden
  • garden produce
  • plant a garden
  • weed the garden
  • water the garden
Synonyms
  • patch

    a small area of ground used for a particular crop, like a pumpkin patch

  • plot

    a measured piece of land used for gardening, often in a community garden

Grammar Patterns

vegetable garden

kitchen garden

grow + in + the garden

Usage Note

When garden is used without a qualifier but the context is about food, this sense is implied. For clarity, you can say vegetable garden or kitchen garden.

Common Mistakes

I need to water the garden of vegetables.
I need to water the vegetable garden.
Use the compound noun 'vegetable garden' directly.

3. a large public area with flowers, trees, and paths where people walk or sit to r

3.nounA2
Definition

a large public area with flowers, trees, and paths where people walk or sit to relax

Example

The botanical garden in the city center opens every day at sunrise.

proper noun: botanical garden

Ziad and his friends had a picnic in the rose garden near the museum.

Common collocations
  • botanical garden
  • rose garden
  • public garden
  • Japanese garden
  • formal garden
  • garden tour
Synonyms
  • park

    a large public green space, usually free and with more open grass areas than flowers

  • arboretum

    a garden focused on trees and woody plants, more specialized

Grammar Patterns

botanical garden

rose garden

public garden

Usage Note

This sense often appears in the names of specific places, such as Kew Gardens or the Garden of the Gods. Unlike sense 1, this garden is open to the public and usually charges an entry fee or is a public park.

Common Mistakes

We went to the garden to see the flowers in my aunt's house.' (intending a public garden, but sounds like sense 1).
We went to the botanical garden in the city.
Use an adjective like 'botanical', 'public', or the garden's name to make the meaning clear.
Idioms

lead someone up the garden path

idiom

to make someone believe something that is not true, usually by giving them wrong information on purpose

The car dealer led Jude up the garden path by hiding the accident history.

Imran felt embarrassed when he realized the email had led him up the garden path.

everything in the garden is rosy

idiom

used to say that a situation seems perfect or without any problems, often when the truth is different

The annual report makes it sound like everything in the garden is rosy, but staff are actually very unhappy.

Do not believe the ad — everything in the garden is rarely as rosy as it looks.

common or garden

idiom

ordinary and not special in any way; the most usual type

It is not a rare flower — just a common or garden daisy found in any field.

The hotel turned out to be a common or garden guesthouse, nothing like the photos online.

lead somebody up/down the garden path

idiom

To trick someone into believing something false.

The salesman led us down the garden path with fake promises.

Did the politician lead voters up the garden path again?

garden — verb

garden — adjective

Word family

Synonym discussion

Sense: noun/1

Garden, yard, lawn, park, and plot all describe outdoor land, but they differ in use and scope. A garden (noun/1) is a cultivated area near a home, typically containing flowers, decorative plants, and often a grass lawn. A yard is the broader outdoor space around a house in American English — it may be mostly grass or concrete with no deliberate planting, so saying 'Élise planted roses in her yard' sounds odd because yard implies a general area rather than a cared-for garden bed. A lawn is specifically the mown grass area, with no flower beds or vegetable patches — you sit on a lawn but you do not plant tulips there. A park is a large public space with grass, trees, and paths, owned by the city rather than attached to a home. A plot is a measured piece of land, often rented for growing vegetables in a community garden. Example: 'Mira watered the flowers in her garden' feels natural, but 'Mira watered the flowers in her yard' suggests a less cultivated setting.

yard ↗lawn ↗park ↗plot ↗

Common collocations

Nouns

  • garden design
  • garden maintenance
  • garden visit
  • garden tour

Adverbs

  • beautifully gardened
  • well-gardened
  • lovingly gardened

Phrases

  • at the bottom of the garden
  • the back of the garden
  • the far end of the garden

Prepositions

  • in the garden
  • through the garden
  • around the garden
  • next to the garden

Etymology

GermanicOld North FrenchMiddle EnglishEnglish

Garden entered Middle English from Old North French gardin, which came from a Germanic root *gard- meaning an enclosed piece of land or yard. This same root is related to yard and the -gard in place names like Stuttgart. The original idea of an enclosed, protected space for growing plants has stayed with the word for nearly a thousand years.