-ing

¹ American  

1. a suffix of nouns formed from verbs, expressing the action of the verb or its result, product, material, etc. (the art of building; a new building; cotton wadding ). It is also used to form nouns from words other than verbs (offing; shirting ). Verbal nouns ending in -ing are often used attributively (the printing trade ) and in forming compounds (drinking song ). In some compounds (sewing machine ), the first element might reasonably be regarded as the participial adjective, -ing2, the compound thus meaning “a machine that sews,” but it is commonly taken as a verbal noun, the compound being explained as “a machine for sewing.”

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-ing ² American  

1. a suffix forming the present participle of verbs (walking; thinking ), such participles being often used as participial adjectives: warring factions.

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-ing ³ American  

1. a native English suffix meaning “one belonging to,” “of the kind of,” “one descended from,” and sometimes having a diminutive force, formerly used in the formation of nouns: farthing; shilling; bunting; gelding; whiting.

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-ing ¹ British  

suffix

1. (from verbs) the action of, process of, result of, or something connected with the verb

   coming

   meeting

   a wedding

   winnings

2. (from other nouns) something used in, consisting of, involving, etc

   tubing

   soldiering

3. ( from other parts of speech )

   an outing

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-ing ² British  

suffix

1. forming the present participle of verbs

   walking

   believing

2. forming participial adjectives

   a growing boy

   a sinking ship

3. forming adjectives not derived from verbs

   swashbuckling

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-ing ³ British  

suffix

1. a person or thing having a certain quality or being of a certain kind

   sweeting

   whiting

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Pronunciation

The common suffix -ing2 can be pronounced in modern English as either or , with either the velar nasal consonant , symbolized in IPA as [ŋ], or the alveolar nasal consonant , symbolized in IPA as [n]. The pronunciation therefore reflects the use of one nasal as against another and not, as is popularly supposed, “dropping the g, ” since no actual g -sound is involved. Many speakers use both pronunciations, depending on the speed of utterance and the relative formality of the occasion, with considered the more formal variant. For some educated speakers, especially in the southern United States and Britain, is in fact the more common pronunciation, while for other educated speakers, is common in virtually all circumstances. In response to correction from perceived authorities, many American speakers who would ordinarily use at least some of the time make a conscious effort to say , even in informal circumstances.

Etymology

Origin of -ing¹

Middle English; Old English -ing, -ung

Origin of -ing²

Middle English -ing, -inge ; the variant -in (usually represented in spelling as -inʾ ) continues Middle English -inde, -ende, Old English -ende

Origin of -ing³

Middle English, Old English -ing, cognate with Old Norse -ingr, -ungr, Gothic -ings

Example Sentences

The catfish - which Mr Ing said was returned to the water regularly during the weighing process - has now been released into a specialist catfish lake at the fishery.

From BBC • Jan. 8, 2025

Best known by her nickname, "Ung Ing", she announced in November that she is pregnant.

From Reuters • Mar. 20, 2023

“We had one deep breath of air,” said Kaniela Ing, a former state legislator and the founder of Our Hawaii, a group pressing politicians not to accept donations from developers of large tourism projects.

From New York Times • Dec. 9, 2022

Ing is believed to have performed in more productions of "Flower Drum Song" in the role of Wang Ta than any other actor.

From Fox News • Aug. 4, 2021

I made a full report, advised Mr. Sterling to call in Mr. Ing confidentially, and show him his fix.

From Between the Lines Secret Service Stories Told Fifty Years After by Smith, Henry Bascom

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