pruning

American  

[proo-ning] / ˈpru nɪŋ /

noun

• prunings
  plural

1. the act or practice of cutting or lopping off undesired twigs, branches, or roots.

   Some pruning of your tea roses during the summer is useful to encourage growth and flowers.

2. the act or practice of getting rid of undesirable elements or excess.

   You can do this pruning of emails for an hour a day till you're down to an empty inbox.

---

Other Word Forms

Noun Inflected Forms

• prunings
  plural

---

Etymology

Origin of pruning

First recorded in 1540–50; prun(e) ² ( def. ) + -ing ¹ ( def. )

---

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

pruning prunings

"We have to use this time to get things done... we're pruning the rose bushes for winter," he said.

From Barron's ● Oct. 30, 2026

An arborist can inspect trees for structural issues, such as cracks, weak attachments and decay, and will provide targeted pruning recommendations as needed.

From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 22, 2026

Is Microsoft laying off 3,200 employees from the Xbox division just a new boss coming in and pruning an overgrown asset, or is it a sign that console gaming is coming to the end?

From Slate ● Jul. 17, 2026

Along with competitors, it’s raising bag fees and fares and pruning less-profitable routes to cope with a doubling in jet fuel.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Apr. 10, 2026

We need our limbs trimmed just the way you need to cut your fingernails and hair, although for us it’s only once or twice a year, and it’s called pruning.

From "Wishtree" by Katherine Applegate

Nearby, prunings from a carrotwood tree lay in a parkway.

From Los Angeles Times ● Feb. 18, 2025

If you have ivy in your garden, please landscape responsibly, and dispose of any ivy prunings carefully, as many a ruined landscape began with unscrupulous gardeners discarding yard waste that included bits of ivy.

From New York Times ● Jan. 20, 2017

The Bucket Jockey is an effective but inexpensive way to organize and easily transport your tools with a bucket for holding your prunings.

From Los Angeles Times ● Apr. 30, 2016

The move mirrors similar prunings around the country at other public colleges and universities that are reeling from steep drops in state aid.

From New York Times ● Dec. 5, 2010

Rubber-tree prunings and sawn rubber trees obtained by thinning-out may be used in mixture with dead wood, provided the logs are stacked to dry in the sun for some weeks before use.

From The Preparation of Plantation Rubber by Sidney Morgan

Random Word

Spin the wheel and learn a new word!

---