pruning

American  

[proo-ning] / ˈpru nɪŋ /

noun

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.

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Etymology

Origin of pruning

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

Example Sentences

Shafer noticed he could wear a T-shirt while pruning trees instead of the usual hooded sweatshirt and knitted hat.

From Los Angeles Times • May 19, 2026

They’re pruning good investors who had a down year and keeping mediocre ones who got lucky.

From MarketWatch • May 12, 2026

The transformation could be down to the pruning of nerve networks, and changes to blood vessels and cells that support nerves, says Carmona, and could represent the brain rewiring in a positive way.

From BBC • Mar. 4, 2026

Instead the final four candidates for the job were a range of eager submissives, each straining to appear enthusiastic to pick up the pruning shears and start cutting rates by the bunch:

From The Wall Street Journal • Feb. 2, 2026

Ella found her godmother pruning belladonnas inside her dark cabinet of Underworld plants.

From "The Marvellers" by Dhonielle Clayton