hardening

[hahr-dn-ing]

noun

1. a material that hardens another, as an alloy added to iron to make steel.

2. the process of becoming hard or rigid.

hardening

/ ˈhɑːdənɪŋ /

noun

1. the act or process of becoming or making hard

2. a substance added to another substance or material to make it harder

Word History and Origins

Origin of hardening¹

First recorded in 1620–30; harden + -ing ¹

Example Sentences

Researchers have found comprehensive home hardening and defensible space can reduce the risk of a home burning by about a third, but not bring it down to zero.

Read more on Los Angeles Times

It’s hardening and dispersing its defense industries against Ukraine’s long-range strikes.

Read more on The Wall Street Journal

More of those tiny creatures kept joining the fight, and now a glowing sludge was thickening and hardening around the propellers.

Read more on Literature

Gibbs views the brigade’s high-profile firefighting as a “Trojan horse” to recruit citizens to help with the “real work” — home hardening and community wildfire preparedness.

Read more on Los Angeles Times

The peer says he has been speaking to a whistleblower, who claims that the government has missed the 2025 deadline set out in its national cyber security strategy for hardening "critical" systems against cyber attacks.

Read more on BBC

Related Words

• crystallization