pruning
Americannoun
-
prunings
plural
-
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.
-
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
Etymology
Origin of pruning
First recorded in 1540–50; prun(e) 2 ( def. ) + -ing 1 ( def. )
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:
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
Investor sentiment will be driven by net debt reductions and pruning of the portfolio, he adds.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 10, 2026
They’re pruning good investors who had a down year and keeping mediocre ones who got lucky.
From MarketWatch ● May 12, 2026
But pruning is usually done with special shears that look like giant scissors or with a small saw on a long pole.
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
In order to carry out the idea thus outlined, an early spring pruning is given while the trees are dormant, and several successive prunings are administered during the growing season.
From Dwarf Fruit Trees Their propagation, pruning, and general management, adapted to the United States and Canada by F. A. Waugh
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