1. [n]  the act of gathering something
2. [n]  the social act of assembling; "they demanded the right of assembly"
3. [n]  sewing consisting of small folds or puckers made by pulling tight a thread in a line of stitching
4. [n]  a group of persons together in one place

Gathering
Families in the northwoods begin to prepare for the coming winter. They gather garden vegetables, pick berries, chop firewood and get their sleds ready for the first big snowfall.

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1. \Gath"er*ing\, n.
   1. The act of collecting or bringing together.
   2. That which is gathered, collected, or brought together;
      as:
      (a) A crowd; an assembly; a congregation.
      (b) A charitable contribution; a collection.
      (c) A tumor or boil suppurated or maturated; an abscess.
   

2. \Gath"er*ing\, a.
   Assembling; collecting; used for gathering or concentrating.
   {Gathering board} (Bookbinding), a table or board on which
      signatures are gathered or assembled, to form a book.
      --Knight.
   {Gathering coal}, a lighted coal left smothered in embers
      over night, about which kindling wood is gathered in the
      morning.
   {Gathering hoop}, a hoop used by coopers to draw together the
      ends of barrel staves, to allow the hoops to be slipped
      over them.
   {Gathering peat}.
   (a) A piece of peat used as a gathering coal, to preserve a
       fire.
   (b) In Scotland, a fiery peat which was sent round by the
       Borderers as an alarm signal, as the fiery cross was by
       the Highlanders.