Showing results for "piping"

• present participle of pipe.

piping

American  

[pahy-ping] / ˈpaɪ pɪŋ /

noun

pipings plural

1. pipes collectively; a system or network of pipes.

2. material formed into a pipe or pipes.

3. the act of a person or thing that pipes.

4. the sound of pipes.

5. a shrill sound.

6. the music of pipes.

7. a cordlike ornamentation made of icing, used on pastry.

8. a tubular band of ornamental material, sometimes containing a cord, used for trimming the edges and seams of clothing, upholstery, etc.

---

adjective

1. characterized by the peaceful music of the pipe.

2. playing on a musical pipe.

3. that pipes.

4. emitting a shrill sound.

   a piping voice.

idioms

1. piping hot, (of food or drink) very hot.

piping British  

/ ˈpaɪpɪŋ /

noun

1. pipes collectively, esp pipes formed into a connected system, as in the plumbing of a house

2. a cord of icing, whipped cream, etc, often used to decorate desserts and cakes

3. a thin strip of covered cord or material, used to edge hems, etc

4. the sound of a pipe or a set of bagpipes

5. the art or technique of playing a pipe or bagpipes

6. a shrill voice or sound, esp a whistling sound

---

adjective

1. making a shrill sound

2. archaic relating to the pipe (associated with peace), as opposed to martial instruments, such as the fife or trumpet

adverb

1. extremely hot

Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• pipingly
  adverb

Inflected Forms

Nouns

• pipings
  plural

Etymology

Origin of piping

1200–50; Middle English (gerund); see pipe ¹, -ing ¹, -ing ²

Example Sentences

The system involved piping water from higher up in the mountains during the winter and spraying it into the air, where it would freeze, and over time form large towers of ice, called ice stupas.

From BBC • Jun. 18, 2026

The fact that it’s best enjoyed piping hot, with steam rising in thin streams from spoonfuls of rice.

From Salon • Jun. 7, 2026

Occasionally, experiments fail, like when the team tried piping in a less-than-convincing recording of a rooster over loud speakers.

From The Wall Street Journal • Apr. 16, 2026

That’s partly because heat pumps work by extracting heat from outdoor air, compressing it and piping it indoors, a thermal magic trick that’s harder to perform in places with subzero winters.

From Los Angeles Times • Mar. 1, 2026

The sides of the glass are piping hot.

From "X: A Novel" by Ilyasah Shabazz