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pruning

verb

present participle of prune
as in shaving
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

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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 pruning Skip pruning woody plants in fall to avoid harming them; wait until late winter or spring. — Brandee Gruener, Southern Living, 14 Sep. 2026 As cheaper models become uneconomic to produce, manufacturers are pruning them from their line-ups, pushing the overall market higher. — Celestine Iyer, CNBC, 11 Sep. 2026 Moor explains how this form of thought emphasizes branching, growth, and pruning, as opposed to hierarchical ordering, and shows how these principles can be identified in the work of writers like Tolstoy and Wordsworth. — Fiction Non Fiction, Literary Hub, 10 Sep. 2026 As days get shorter, there’s no need to worry about sunlight, watering, or pruning with these autumnal picks from Amazon. — Better Homes & Gardens, 10 Sep. 2026 If pruning the entire plant, use pruners to cut back your daylilies to a few inches above the ground. — Ashley Chalmers, The Spruce, 8 Sep. 2026 At least one officer with the Los Angeles Police Department shot a man who was allegedly armed with a pruning pole on Monday morning, authorities said. — Austin Turner, CBS News, 7 Sep. 2026
Recent Examples of Synonyms for pruning
  1. shaving
  2. trimming
  3. cutting
  4. clipping
  5. mowing
Verb
  • Current standalone pricing for LPCAMM2 modules on Framework's website is $800 for the 32GB kit and $1,600 for the 64GB kit, so even shaving $50 off that would be welcome.
    — Jon Martindale, PC Magazine, 9 Sep. 2026
  • This is the approach taken by Verdantas, whose results now include shaving cycle time from between 10 and 14 days to hours.
    — Chris Stegh, Forbes.com, 9 Sep. 2026
Definition of shaving
Verb
  • Landlords Even before legislation banning institutional investors from purchasing more single-family homes became law, the eight largest Wall Street landlords were trimming their portfolios.
    — Lew Sichelman, Miami Herald, 3 Sep. 2026
  • The changes include cutting small teams consisting of one to two reports by nearly half and trimming employees seven steps away from the CEO by 20%.
    — Samantha Subin, CNBC, 2 Sep. 2026
Definition of trimming
Verb
  • On a September 2026 episode of Not Just Football With Cam Heyward, Rodgers offered a small nugget about how the wedding went down before cutting himself off.
    — Brianna Zigler, Entertainment Weekly, 11 Sep. 2026
  • The victim told police a handful of men had gotten together drinking and smoking while a tree cutting crew was in the neighborhood after recent storms, records state.
    — Meredith Colias-Pete, Chicago Tribune, 11 Sep. 2026
Definition of cutting
Verb
  • Brands, including sports leagues, understand that content clipping is both a marketing strategy and a way to engage with new and established audiences.
    — Felipe Cardenas, New York Times, 14 Sep. 2026
  • Murphy is engaging enough to keep things clipping right along (and Emma is a heroine very easy to root for), but things are at their very best when Emma and Luke are giving into their big feelings.
    — Kate Erbland, IndieWire, 13 Sep. 2026
Definition of clipping
Verb
  • Wait a week or more after mowing so the herbicide has more contact with the weed surfaces, and treat the lawn when no rain is expected for at least 24 hours.
    — Mary Marlowe Leverette, Southern Living, 10 Sep. 2026
  • Having a healthy lawn means managing soil conditions for the roots, mowing properly, and strengthening the density of the grass by overseeding.
    — Mary Marlowe Leverette, The Spruce, 4 Sep. 2026
Definition of mowing

Browse Nearby Words

prunes
pruning
prurience
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Cite this Entry

“Pruning.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/pruning. Accessed 18 Sep. 2026.

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