- present participle of prime.
noun
-
something used to prime
-
a substance, used to ignite an explosive charge
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Etymology
Origin of priming
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
See Examples For:
Nasdaq is changing its procedures to put SpaceX in funds based on it and priming the pump to do the same with Anthropic and OpenAI, which have historically burned through cash.
From Slate ● Jun. 5, 2026
As Barron’s wrote last November, the company has been priming investors for the loss of Apple’s sales for years, and it may already be factored into the stock price.
From Barron's ● Jan. 9, 2026
Taken together, these two lines of research—the broad immune priming revealed by Covid mRNA vaccines and the precision targeting achieved by cancer-specific mRNA therapies—are beginning to converge.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Nov. 5, 2025
The book's authors say "Major Abu-Ajailah Khair" was Masud, who is alleged to have confessed to priming the bomb which brought down Pan Am 103.
From BBC ● Mar. 18, 2025
“I don’t like it either. God, I hate it! That woman is priming herself for a nervous breakdown. I just hope she doesn’t have it while I’m here.”
From "Kindred" by Octavia Butler
On the present occasion it only remained to freshen the primings, and each piece was in a state for service.
From The Deerslayer by James Fenimore Cooper
"I'll give a look to our primings while ye drink a stirrup-cup."
From Stories of the Border Marches by Jeanie Lang
When all were across, command was given to halt and look to the primings.
From A Volunteer with Pike The True Narrative of One Dr. John Robinson and of His Love for the Fair Señorita Vallois by Robert Ames Bennet
"Up wi' your fambles!" says I. Obediently he raised his hands and, taking his pistols, I opened the pan of each one and, having blown out the primings, tossed them back.
From Black Bartlemy's Treasure by Jeffery Farnol
Look to your primings, but make no noise.
From Hardscrabble; or, the fall of Chicago. a tale of Indian warfare by John Richardson
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
