pruning
Americannoun
-
prunings
plural
-
the act or practice of cutting or lopping off undesired twigs, branches, or roots.
Some pruning of your tea roses during the summer is useful to encourage growth and flowers.
-
the act or practice of getting rid of undesirable elements or excess.
You can do this pruning of emails for an hour a day till you're down to an empty inbox.
Other Word Forms
Noun Inflected Forms
Etymology
Origin of pruning
First recorded in 1540–50; prun(e) 2 ( def. ) + -ing 1 ( def. )
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:
"We have to use this time to get things done... we're pruning the rose bushes for winter," he said.
From Barron's ● Oct. 30, 2026
“Yes, there are laws,” said Jesus, his face wrinkled from years of harvesting garlic, pruning grape vines and picking blackberries in the sun-baked San Joaquin Valley.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 24, 2026
Is Microsoft laying off 3,200 employees from the Xbox division just a new boss coming in and pruning an overgrown asset, or is it a sign that console gaming is coming to the end?
From Slate ● Jul. 17, 2026
Then I threw my back out lifting a 50-pound bag of Quikrete, I nearly fell off the ladder pruning trees, plumbing began to look unappealing and everything took longer than anticipated.
From The Wall Street Journal ● May 2, 2026
Professor Sprout set them all to work pruning the Abyssinian Shrivelfigs.
From "Harry Potter And The Chamber Of Secrets" by J. K. Rowling
Nearby, prunings from a carrotwood tree lay in a parkway.
From Los Angeles Times ● Feb. 18, 2025
If you have ivy in your garden, please landscape responsibly, and dispose of any ivy prunings carefully, as many a ruined landscape began with unscrupulous gardeners discarding yard waste that included bits of ivy.
From New York Times ● Jan. 20, 2017
The Bucket Jockey is an effective but inexpensive way to organize and easily transport your tools with a bucket for holding your prunings.
From Los Angeles Times ● Apr. 30, 2016
But in reality Sannino’s gets very few takers for its midwinter vine prunings.
From New York Times ● Dec. 2, 2010
My soul, I must say, has had some vigorous prunings.
From Fr?ulein Schmidt and Mr. Anstruther by Elizabeth von Arnim
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