bluing

American  

[bloo-ing] / ˈblu ɪŋ /

Or blueing

noun

Chemistry.

1. a substance, as indigo, used to whiten clothes or give them a bluish tinge.

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Etymology

Origin of bluing

First recorded in 1660–70; blue + -ing ¹

Example Sentences

The colour actually comes from a process that starts with boiling water and grinding laundry bluing cubes, which are usually used to wash white clothes.

From BBC • Feb. 11, 2024

Although Castle made works with color, utilizing a variety of materials that include laundry bluing, watercolor, crayon and even colored ink leached from magazine pages, these are black soot-and-spit.

From Los Angeles Times • Aug. 23, 2023

Some on Reddit fixed this by sanding theirs down to take the shine off of the finish, and another recommended using an acrylic topcoat and another chemical bluing.

From The Verge • Mar. 9, 2022

When a congressional seat opened up in a bluing stretch of Phoenix’s eastern suburbs, Sinema ran and won.

From Seattle Times • Jul. 6, 2021

High above the library’s stained-glass windows and soaring neo-Gothic spires, screeching seagulls whirled in white loops against the slowly bluing sky.

From "The Boys in the Boat: Nine Americans and Their Epic Quest for Gold at the 1936 Berlin Olympics" by Daniel James Brown