- present participle of shave.
shaving
Americannoun
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Often shavings. a very thin piece or slice, especially of wood.
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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.
Forgiveness is posthumously granted through cinema, shaving away anything unpleasant that is no longer necessary to dwell on.
From Salon • Jun. 2, 2026
“We’ve not taken any pricing in the last two years — even longer than that,” he said about raising prices for company’s shaving and sunscreen products in the U.S.
From MarketWatch • May 17, 2026
That is even after Iran effectively closed the Strait of Hormuz, shaving as much as 16 million barrels from daily petroleum supplies, equivalent to 15% of prewar demand.
From The Wall Street Journal • Apr. 1, 2026
"If people asked what had happened, I would joke about a shaving mishap rather than admit the real reason."
From BBC • Mar. 24, 2026
He felt his throat critically with one hand, then picked up his shaving brush and began to re-lather strategic parts of his face.
From "Franny and Zooey" by J. D. Salinger
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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.