- present participle of shave.
shaving
Americannoun
-
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:
“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
The objects, which sold for a total of £59,761, vary from a Victorian travelling shaving brush by pioneering silversmith Frances Douglas to an Imperial Russian tankard and an Edwardian jewellery box.
From BBC ● Jul. 4, 2026
That’s not the case for James Stolis, a chemical engineer in Las Vegas, who declared independence from his follicles last July 4 by shaving his head on a mountaintop in California.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 24, 2026
Kluska believes uniQure has a clear shot at launching the drug by late 2027, shaving years off Cantor’s original 2030 timeline.
From Barron's ● Jun. 17, 2026
Hooper stood very still, turning the pencil round and round inside the sharpener, and watching the shaving of wood uncurl itself out of the side, like a moth emerging from the larva.
From "I'm the King of the Castle" by Susan Hill
Criw Compostio picks up waste, as well as wood shavings from a carpentry business and used rabbit and guinea pig bedding from pet owners, twice a week.
From BBC ● Jul. 19, 2026
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
The smell of soupy, red meat mixing with the unmistakable perfume of Suavitel and Zote shavings.
From Los Angeles Times ● May 1, 2024
Under my window, Nutmeg and Cinnamon purr happily, shuffling through the shavings in their cage.
From "Rules" by Cynthia Lord
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.
