- present participle of shave.
shaving
Americannoun
-
shavings
plural
-
Often shavings. a very thin piece or slice, especially of wood.
-
the act of a person or thing that shaves.
noun
Other Word Forms
Noun Inflected Forms
Etymology
Origin of shaving
Middle English word dating back to 1325–75; see origin at shave, -ing 1
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:
Schick revolutionized shaving with injector razors and multiblades in a single cartridge, slugging it out in the marketplace for decades with rival shaving giant Gillette.
From MarketWatch ● Sep. 16, 2026
Except for the part where they pluck and prune themselves into the hairlessness of a dolphin; “Love is Blind’s” Zack Goytowski and “Love Island’s” Zach Georgiou both cop to shaving their legs.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 22, 2026
She decided to embrace her new look, by shaving her head after she lost some of her hair from chemotherapy.
From BBC ● Aug. 18, 2026
“Cancer has a way of taking things you never realized you’d grieve,” she wrote alongside a video of the parents shaving Whimsy’s head.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 18, 2026
First he took out his dad's shaving cream and pushed the button on top so that it foamed out into his hand.
From "All About Sam" by Lois Lowry
They also reportedly have dispensers for chaff -- metal shavings that distract radar-guided missiles -- and flares that blind heat-seeking missiles.
From Barron's ● Jul. 10, 2026
The French-infused menu on a recent visit included individually plated potato ravioli served with a mushroom half glaze and black-truffle shavings.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 4, 2025
An audit by the FAA also confirmed that metal shavings were present beneath the floors of a number of aircraft.
From BBC ● Jun. 29, 2025
A dank, earthy odor hung in the air, as if mounds of fresh pencil shavings had been scattered over a newly excavated farm plot.
From Los Angeles Times ● May 21, 2025
The room smelled of metal shavings mixed with whatever grease was used in the lathes and other implements that I never learned to use.
From "Drama High" by Michael Sokolove
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.
