Definition

1. Noun:

   • A person whose money or property is legally held to pay a debt: A "garnishee" is a third party, such as an employer or a bank, that is ordered by a court to withhold money (like wages or funds from a bank account) belonging to a debtor to pay a creditor.

2. Verb:

   • To legally seize money or property from a third party to satisfy a debt: To "garnishee" means for a court to order a third party (the garnishee) to turn over money or assets that belong to a debtor to pay off a debt or obligation.

Usage Examples

• Noun:

  • The court sent the order to the garnishee, the debtor's employer, instructing them to withhold a portion of his wages.
  • The bank, acting as the garnishee, froze the account as required by the legal notice.

• Verb:

  • The court will garnishee his bank account to recover the unpaid taxes.
  • Her wages were garnisheed to cover the overdue child support payments.

Advanced Usage

• "To serve a garnishee": To formally deliver a legal order (a garnishment) to a third party.
  • The creditor's lawyer moved to serve a garnishee on the debtor's new employer.

Variants and Related Words

• Garnishment (n): The legal process or court order that directs a garnishee to withhold assets.

  • The creditor obtained a garnishment for the debtor's wages.

• Garnish (v): In a legal context, this is often used interchangeably with "garnishee" as a verb, meaning to seize assets via this process.

  • The agency can garnish wages for unpaid student loans.

Synonyms

• Noun: Withholding agent, third-party debtor.
• Verb: Attach, seize, levy, withhold (through legal process).

Related Phrases

• Wage garnishment: The specific process of withholding earnings from a person's paycheck.

  • He faced wage garnishment after losing the lawsuit.

• Bank account garnishment: The process of seizing funds directly from a bank account.

  • The judgment led to the bank account garnishment.

Noun

1. a wage earner who is served with a garnishment

Verb

1. take a debtor's wages on legal orders, such as for child support
   • His employer garnished his wages in order to pay his debt