siding

American  

[sahy-ding] / ˈsaɪ dɪŋ /

noun

• sidings
  plural

1. a short railroad track, opening onto a main track at one or both ends, on which one of two meeting trains is switched until the other has passed.

2. any of several varieties of weatherproof facing for frame buildings, composed of pieces attached separately as shingles, plain or shaped boards, or of various units of sheet metal or various types of composition materials.

---

siding British  

/ ˈsaɪdɪŋ /

noun

1. a short stretch of railway track connected to a main line, used for storing rolling stock or to enable trains on the same line to pass

2. a short railway line giving access to the main line for freight from a factory, mine, quarry, etc

3. material attached to the outside of a building to make it weatherproof

---

Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• unsiding
  adjective

Inflected Forms

Nouns

• sidings
  plural

---

Etymology

Origin of siding

First recorded in 1595–1605; side ¹ + -ing ¹

---

Explanation

Siding is what a home builder covers the outside walls of a house with. Some houses have old aluminum siding or newer vinyl siding. Older houses that haven't had new siding applied are likely to have some type of wooden siding, like shingles or clapboards, unless they're made out of brick or stone. It's less expensive to maintain a house with plastic, or vinyl, siding because it doesn't have to be painted every few years. A completely different kind of siding is a track that runs beside the main train tracks, used for storing train cars or allowing one train to pass another.

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

siding sidings

So most audiences will automatically be put into the purposefully uncomfortable position of siding with people they would never see themselves inclined to agree with.

From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 9, 2026

But in siding with those officials, Schiltz saw an ulterior motive.

From Slate ● Jun. 22, 2026

District Judge Troy Nunley issued a preliminary injunction on Friday that blocks the companies from integrating their operations, siding with DirecTV and a coalition of eight states that sued to stop the deal.

From Barron's ● Apr. 18, 2026

Dina Zemke’s decision to replace her house’s high-maintenance board-and-batten wood siding last June led to a surprise.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Apr. 8, 2026

Once the fire broke through the circle of engines, it pushed out fists of flame that ate up clapboard siding, shingled roofs, fences, trees, outhouses, and chicken coops.

From "The Great Fire" by Jim Murphy

"There were railway sidings not far from where we lived at the time, so it's difficult to draw any other conclusions really, because once she'd stopped the eating, she got better."

From BBC ● Mar. 12, 2025

Nevertheless, the tracks are still live with empty trains on the Jubilee line occasionally having to pull into the sidings towards Charing Cross to regulate the service.

From BBC ● Aug. 2, 2023

Unlike the O.J. moment, there were also no multitudes drawn to the overpasses and sidings to cheer for their hero.

From Washington Post ● Apr. 3, 2023

For example, apply matte or low-luster paint to fiber cement or other composite sidings, Viggiano says, or it may end up with a plastic-like appearance.

From Seattle Times ● Oct. 14, 2021

Another thing it did was stop on sidings near prisons, leaving a few cars there.

From "Slaughterhouse-Five" by Kurt Vonnegut

Random Word

Spin the wheel and learn a new word!

---

Related Words

• cladding
• covering

---