feathering

American  

[feth-er-ing] / ˈfɛð ər ɪŋ /

noun

1. a covering of feathers; plumage.

2. the arrangement of feathers on an arrow.

3. Music. a very light and delicate use of the violin bow.

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feathering British  

/ ˈfɛðərɪŋ /

noun

1. the plumage of a bird; feathers

2. another word for feathers

3. printing

   1. an imperfection in print caused by the spreading of ink

   2. the use of additional space between lines in typesetting in order to fill the page

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Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• underfeathering
  noun

Etymology

Origin of feathering

First recorded in 1520–30; feather + -ing ¹

Example Sentences

Traditionally, skiers negotiate the steepest terrain of a course by feathering their skis at a slight diagonal and elongating their stride to help them conserve energy.

From The Wall Street Journal • Feb. 16, 2026

The Australian skipper removed him for a 13th time in Tests, more than any other bowler, with a furious Root berating himself after prodding at a full delivery and feathering to Carey.

From Barron's • Dec. 20, 2025

Kartye was even out killing penalties, blocking a Philip Broberg wrist shot and then racing up ice and feathering a pass to Cale Fleury off a 2-on-1 break after he’d stepped out of the box.

From Seattle Times • Oct. 3, 2023

Earlier in the day, England added 36 runs to their overnight 258-7, with Jonny Bairstow only able to add 10 more runs before feathering Scott Boland behind to fall for 113.

From BBC • Jan. 8, 2022

It was at work upon the feathering of his shafts that the first of the reporters found him.

From "Brave New World" by Aldous Huxley