- present participle of trim.
trimming
Americannoun
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trimmings
plural
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anything used or serving to decorate or complete.
the trimmings of a Christmas tree.
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Usually trimmings an accompaniment or garnish to a main dish.
roast turkey with all the trimmings.
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trimmings, pieces cut off in trimming, clipping, paring, or pruning.
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the act of a person or thing that trims.
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Informal. a beating or thrashing.
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Informal. a defeat.
Our team took quite a trimming.
noun
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an extra piece used to decorate or complete
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(plural) usual or traditional accompaniments
roast turkey with all the trimmings
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(plural) parts that are cut off
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dialect (plural) ornaments; decorations
Christmas trimmings
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informal a reproof, beating, or defeat
Other Word Forms
Noun Inflected Forms
Etymology
Origin of trimming
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:
He said the hospital is “trying to turn it around from all the levers possible,” such as renegotiating contracts with insurers, trimming costs and advocating for more government funding.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 6, 2026
Pulte said on X on Tuesday that he has conducted five rounds of layoffs, trimming the staff by around 30% from several weeks ago.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 28, 2026
"Part of what we’re seeing today is probably traders trimming ahead of results rather than waiting to find out," she said.
From Barron's ● Jul. 28, 2026
"I have done all sorts, all sorts, trimming back brambles, conservation work, tidying up, setting up for events."
From BBC ● Jul. 27, 2026
Beside her, the Assassin was trimming her fingernails with the tip of her knife, flinging little white slivers into the frothy green water below.
From "The Reader" by Traci Chee
And yes, despite your editor’s constant trimmings, you’ll still kick off emphatic sentences with “Yes” more than 50 times.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Feb. 6, 2026
For income investors with a value bent, those six have the ingredients of a wonderful Thanksgiving dinner with all the trimmings.
From Barron's ● Nov. 25, 2025
So far, so logistical – but the key challenge for royal organisers has been finding a way of ensuring Trump feels he has been given a full state visit with all the trimmings.
From BBC ● Sep. 15, 2025
Row upon row of elaborate trimmings are composed of interlocking streams of fluid silver, their chain-like pattern more visually felt than precisely illustrated.
From Los Angeles Times ● Dec. 17, 2024
I blink again, and I see her smile as she sweeps my hair trimmings into a pile.
From "Divergent" by Veronica Roth
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.
