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Showing results for "ironing"
  • present participle of iron.
Synonyms

ironing

American  
[ahy-er-ning] / ˈaɪ ər nɪŋ /

noun

  • ironings
    plural
  1. the act or process of smoothing or pressing clothes, linens, etc., with a heated iron.

  2. articles of clothing or the like that have been or are to be ironed.


ironing British  
/ ˈaɪənɪŋ /

noun

  1. the act of ironing washed clothes

  2. clothes that are to be or that have been ironed

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Other Word Forms

Noun Inflected Forms

Etymology

Origin of ironing

First recorded in 1700–10; iron + -ing 1

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:

But training them to safely perform household tasks like ironing or stacking the dishwasher is proving difficult and costly.

From BBC Jul. 2, 2026

The company is still ironing out details of the venture, including its board and leadership team.

From The Wall Street Journal Jun. 23, 2026

“What the 60-day window is actually for is ironing out the thorniest details,” Henrietta Treyz, director of economic policy at Veda Partners, wrote in a note.

From MarketWatch Jun. 16, 2026

First she mocked women with, “What am I, my husband’s servant? Picking up after him all the time, picking his undies off the floor, ironing his clothes? What am I, his servant?”

From Salon Jun. 12, 2026

The smells of cabbage, potatoes, and meat on top of burnt cornstarch, lavender, and metal from an afternoon of ironing saluted me when I walked inside Ma Charles’s house.

From "Gone Crazy in Alabama" by Rita Williams-Garcia

She owned a little soft, white silk frock, which still looked festive and partyfied, in spite of frequent washings and not too careful ironings.

From The Carroll Girls by Mabel Quiller-Couch

Maria worked hard at her braiding—that was open to anybody's observation; but there were less obvious flutings and ironings down in the kitchen, and adjusting of ribbons and flowers in secret consultations up-stairs.

From What She Could by Susan Warner

She could do washings and ironings if she could get them and do it here at home.

From Slave Narratives: a Folk History of Slavery in the United States From Interviews with Former Slaves Arkansas Narratives, Part 7 by Work Projects Administration

Who has told of the turnings, the dyings, the ironings, the darnings, that have gone to make misses of ten pounds a-year pin-money look as smart as the squanderer of five hundred?

From The Widow Barnaby Vol. I (of 3) by Frances Eleanor Trollope

Well, Sky-High," said his mistress, "I am going to give you this cabin under the trees, where you may do your washings and all your ironings.

From Little Sky-High The Surprising Doings of Washee-Washee-Wang by Hezekiah Butterworth

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