From Longman Dictionary of Contemporary Englishgatheringgath‧er‧ing /ˈɡæðərɪŋ/ ●○○ noun [countable] 1 MEETa meeting of a group of people a select gathering of 20 or 30 people2 → intelligence/information etc gathering3 DCCa fold or group of folds in cloth
Examples from the Corpus
gathering• So any gathering may seem suspicious to the police.• They announced their engagement at a family gathering in Vermont.• Meanwhile I was to be foisted on my reluctant Aunt Harriet, whom I had only previously met at family gatherings.• He wanted to set up seventy-five gatherings a year!• The Museum hosted a large gathering of people associated with 627.• a large gathering of war veterans• It was quite a small gathering but the speeches were excellent.• Soon afterwards, the gathering broke up and the guests took their leave.• And villagers walking past gave the gathering a wide berth, and spat in disgust with disparaging comments.• There was one last entity present at this gathering, but he was of ethereal stock and invisible to the naked eye. 