prunes

verb

present tense third-person singular of prune
as in shaves
to make (something) shorter or smaller with the use of a cutting instrument pruned the dead branches from the old apple tree

Synonyms & Similar Words

Relevance

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

Example Sentences

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of prunes Cadet, who spent several years working as a florist, prunes the thick green stems of the faux lilies and roses. — Elly Fishman, Vogue, 8 May 2026 Van Tassel prunes her tomatoes throughout the season for better air circulation. — Lauren David, Southern Living, 3 May 2026
Recent Examples of Synonyms for prunes
  1. shaves
  2. cuts
  3. trims
  4. clips
  5. crops
Verb
  • Its ceramic blades easily tackle coarse hair and its waterproof design makes in-shower shaves a breeze.
    — Sara Coughlin, Allure, 5 July 2026
  • Zillow says that a pale pink bathroom could lose you up to $6,013, while a pale pink kitchen shaves an extra $4,201 off potential buyers' offers.
    — Sophia Beams, Better Homes & Gardens, 24 June 2026
Definition of shaves
Verb
  • Zayn's recent proximity to the title picture cuts the other way.
    — Brian Mazique, Forbes.com, 2 Aug. 2026
  • The official also asked agency heads to prepare contingency plans identifying places to save money in a worst-case scenario that cuts need to be made.
    — Dan Raby, CBS News, 31 July 2026
Definition of cuts
Verb
  • Spink’s optimism about the growth opportunities in Saudi Arabia comes even as the kingdom trims capital expenditure, cuts some projects, and limits spending on foreign consultants.
    — Matthew Martin, semafor.com, 1 July 2026
  • Coppola's preferred version of the film, Final Cut, removes or trims a handful of sequences, including the exchange between Willard (Martin Sheen) and the Playboy Playmates, and Kurtz (Marlon Brando) reading from TIME magazine.
    — Britt Hayes, Entertainment Weekly, 16 June 2026
Definition of trims
Verb
  • All of my essentials are packed in my Stowaway, which clips into my weekender as a bag organizer, and can clip out to be worn on its own as a crossbody when walking around during the day or as a clutch when going out in the evening.
    — Elly Leavitt, Vogue, 16 July 2026
  • This compact tote folds into a small pouch that clips directly onto your keys and expands into a functional bag when needed.
    — Corein Carter, Forbes.com, 29 May 2026
Definition of clips
Verb
  • Scrolling through Reddit and X feels claustrophobic because the screen aggressively crops out so much content.
    — Kimberly Gedeon, PC Magazine, 3 Aug. 2026
  • When a user uploads a photo, the algorithm locates the bee, crops the image and compares it to our database.
    — Kansas City Star, Kansas City Star, 14 Nov. 2025
Definition of crops

Browse Nearby Words

pruned
prunes
pruning
See all Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

“Prunes.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/prunes. Accessed 6 Aug. 2026.

Copy Citation

More from Merriam-Webster on prunes

Nglish: Translation of prunes for Spanish Speakers

Last Updated: - Updated example sentences
Love words? Need even more definitions?

Subscribe to America's largest dictionary and get thousands more definitions and advanced search—ad free!

More from Merriam-Webster

Word of the Day

Listen to the pronunciation of torpor

See Definitions and Examples »

Popular in Grammar & Usage

See More

7 Pairs of Commonly Confused Words

Merriam-Webster’s Great Big List of Words You Love to Hate

Is it 'nerve-racking' or 'nerve-wracking'?

'Sneaked' or 'Snuck': Which is correct?

Why does English have so many silent letters?
See More

Popular in Wordplay

See More

The Longest Long Words List

It's a Scorcher! Words for the Summer Heat

14 Phobias You Probably Haven't Heard Of

The Words of the Week - Aug. 7

How long is a jiffy?
See More

Popular

See More

7 Pairs of Commonly Confused Words

The Longest Long Words List

It's a Scorcher! Words for the Summer Heat
See More

Games & Quizzes

See All
Play Quordle: Guess all four words in a limited number of tries. Each of your guesses must be a real 5-letter word.
Quordle Can you solve 4 words at once?
Play Blossom: Solve today's spelling word game by finding as many words as you can using just 7 letters. Longer words score more points.
Blossom Pick the best words!
Play Missing Letter: a crossword with a twist. Each of the 25 puzzle words start with a different letter of the alphabet. Which letter is missing?
The Missing Letter A daily crossword with a twist
asap street sign
Figure Out These Acronyms ASAP You don't have to be a NASA engineer to get these...
See All