prune
1 Americannoun
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a variety of plum that dries without spoiling.
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such a plum when dried.
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any plum.
verb (used with object)
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to cut or lop off (twigs, branches, or roots).
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to cut or lop superfluous or undesired twigs, branches, or roots from; trim.
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to rid or clear of (anything superfluous or undesirable).
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to remove (anything considered superfluous or undesirable).
verb (used with object)
noun
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a purplish-black partially dried fruit of any of several varieties of plum tree
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slang a dull, uninteresting, or foolish person
verb
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to remove (dead or superfluous twigs, branches, etc) from (a tree, shrub, etc), esp by cutting off
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to remove (anything undesirable or superfluous) from (a book, etc)
verb
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Etymology
Origin of prune1
First recorded in 1300–50; Middle English prune, pruna, prum “plum, dried plum, prune,” from Old French prune, pronne, prume, from unrecorded Vulgar Latin prūna, neuter plural (taken as feminine singular) of Latin prūnum “plum,” from Greek proû(m)non, from a language of ancient Anatolia, where the tree and its fruit originated; see also plum
Origin of prune2
First recorded in 1400–50; from Middle English prouynen, from Middle French prougner, from Old French prooignier, proignier, poroindre “to cut back (vines); prune”; further origin uncertain; perhaps from unrecorded Vulgar Latin prōrotundiāre “to make round, cut in a rounded shape”; perhaps a variant of French provigner “to layer vines,” a derivative of provain “scion,” from Latin propāgin-, stem of propāgō; see origin at propagate; see also rotund ( def. )
Origin of prune3
First recorded in 1350–1400; Middle English prunen, pruynen, proy(g)nen, from Old French poroign-, present stem of poroindre, equivalent to por- (from Latin pro-) + oindre “to anoint”; see origin at pro- 1, unguent; see also preen 1
Explanation
To prune means to clip, crop, cut back, and weed out. Pruning usually happens to overgrown trees and bushes, but can also be helpful for wild eyebrows and guest lists that are too long. You may have also heard of another form of prune: the kind you eat. But other than dried plums, the word is generally used in verb form to describe giving something a much needed trim. Gardeners prune plants, cutting back dead branches and weak parts so they can thrive and grow better. Companies prune budgets to cut back on unnecessary spending. And you might need to prune your baseball hat collection if you're running out of places to put them.
Vocabulary lists containing prune
Dirty Words: The Language of Gardening
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Words from Shakespearean Insults
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The Boy Who Harnessed the Wind
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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:
You can sharpen your strengths and prune a position into something that you truly enjoy.
From MarketWatch ● Jun. 22, 2026
“These crews don’t have the time to delicately prune each tree. I finally get it, after being a crank to some of them over the years.”
From The Wall Street Journal ● May 12, 2026
Trees and plants are well-manicured: officials prune, shape and clear the shrubs regularly, and parks are governed by an elaborate rulebook that includes bans on activities like cycling, skating and kite-flying, depending on the park.
From BBC ● Mar. 7, 2026
Arnold wasn’t afraid to prune the portfolio either.
From Barron's ● Jan. 26, 2026
Mom says she has no intention of ever being a farmer, even though she knows how to drive a tractor and prune grapes and everything.
From "Unusual Chickens for the Exceptional Poultry Farmer" by Kelly Jones
"Then, the cell quickly prunes and filters many of those loops out when it enters G1."
From Science Daily ● Oct. 24, 2025
Dr Dimidi recommends eating two or three kiwis throughout the day or 8-10 prunes to improve constipation.
From BBC ● Oct. 13, 2025
Many Sonoma growers had historically considered grapes a crop of last resort, compared with more profitable apples, prunes and olives.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 11, 2025
Otherwise, the script prunes the couple’s legal battle down to one scene with Ivy’s viperous lawyer, played by Allison Janney, who brings a rottweiler to the showdown and claims it’s her service animal.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 28, 2025
“Nobody sees what’s so funny, that’s the trouble with this outfit. We’re all a bunch of impotent, wrinkled-up prunes, if you ask me.”
From "The Milagro Beanfield War" by John Nichols
They pruned any hints of future policy changes from their policy statement.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 8, 2026
But no one expected a live demonstration, and certainly not from one of the esteemed artists featured within the museum’s pristinely pruned collection.
From Salon ● Mar. 14, 2026
Having pruned the administrative state and cut red tape, experts say Lam will focus on spurring private sector growth and digital and technological progress.
From Barron's ● Jan. 18, 2026
The perfectly pruned roses are just beginning to leaf out and the plants in the vegetable garden are seedlings.
From Los Angeles Times ● May 19, 2025
The candles were small trees that had been pruned and tied to wires to make them grow in the shape of candelabra.
From "Ella Enchanted" by Gail Carson Levine
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
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
Their garage, like every other, contains shovels and pruning shears and a sled.
From "The Namesake" by Jhumpa Lahiri
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
