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
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Recent Examples of pruning
Make sure these plants aren’t on your list for pruning in October.
—
Karen Brewer Grossman, Southern Living, 5 Oct. 2025
This understanding of soil diversity enables Wineburg and her team to make more precise viticulture decisions, like adjusting pruning techniques to enhance vascular flow, shaping canopy structure, and managing yields to suit the unique character of each block.
—Mike Desimone, Robb Report, 21 Sep. 2025
Lawn and garden care service is also available to handle tasks like fertilization, pruning and weed control.
—Liz Ohanesian, Oc Register, 19 Sep. 2025
Liberation from time and pruning through mass dishwasher ownership is a dream that remainsonly partly fulfilled.
—Jeremy Lott, The Washington Examiner, 12 Sep. 2025
Maintaining proper airflow by pruning can be as easy as snapping off a low branch or snipping a growing tip here and there.
—Andy Wilcox, Better Homes & Gardens, 11 Sep. 2025
This is typically done using techniques like quantization, which involves using fewer bits to represent a model’s weights, or pruning out connections in the neural network that aren’t contributing much to performance.
—IEEE Spectrum, 3 Sep. 2025
This easy task is known as thumb pruning and facilitates keeping the bush open to air and sun.
—Rita Perwich, San Diego Union-Tribune, 4 Jan. 2025
Work pruning and removing trees began in the fall and is expected to be finished in early Spring 2025, officials said.
—Samantha Moilanen, Chicago Tribune, 2 Jan. 2025
Karen Brewer Grossman, Southern Living, 5 Oct. 2025
This understanding of soil diversity enables Wineburg and her team to make more precise viticulture decisions, like adjusting pruning techniques to enhance vascular flow, shaping canopy structure, and managing yields to suit the unique character of each block.
—Mike Desimone, Robb Report, 21 Sep. 2025
Lawn and garden care service is also available to handle tasks like fertilization, pruning and weed control.
—Liz Ohanesian, Oc Register, 19 Sep. 2025
Liberation from time and pruning through mass dishwasher ownership is a dream that remainsonly partly fulfilled.
—Jeremy Lott, The Washington Examiner, 12 Sep. 2025
Maintaining proper airflow by pruning can be as easy as snapping off a low branch or snipping a growing tip here and there.
—Andy Wilcox, Better Homes & Gardens, 11 Sep. 2025
This is typically done using techniques like quantization, which involves using fewer bits to represent a model’s weights, or pruning out connections in the neural network that aren’t contributing much to performance.
—IEEE Spectrum, 3 Sep. 2025
This easy task is known as thumb pruning and facilitates keeping the bush open to air and sun.
—Rita Perwich, San Diego Union-Tribune, 4 Jan. 2025
Work pruning and removing trees began in the fall and is expected to be finished in early Spring 2025, officials said.
—Samantha Moilanen, Chicago Tribune, 2 Jan. 2025
Recent Examples of Synonyms for pruning
Verb
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Analysts estimate the shutdown is shaving billions off the gross domestic product each week and has left around 803,000 federal workers furloughed or working without pay—many of them lower-wage employees.—
Martha McHardy,
MSNBC Newsweek,
10 Oct. 2025
-
No other manager has reached that figure in a quicker time, with the Spaniard shaving 55 matches off Sir Alex Ferguson’s previous 404-game record pace.—
Jordan Campbell,
New York Times,
6 Oct. 2025
Verb
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Dividend cuts ‘would send shivers through Wall Street’ Clark Williams-Derry, energy finance analyst at the Institute for Energy Economics and Financial Analysis (IEEFA), a non-profit organization, said trimming the share buybacks is likely Big Oil’s easiest option.—
Sam Meredith,
CNBC,
13 Oct. 2025
-
While holiday spending is expected to rise overall—especially for essential goods such as groceries, which are projected to increase by 23 percent—many shoppers are trimming their budgets in other areas.—
Hugh Cameron,
MSNBC Newsweek,
8 Oct. 2025
Verb
-
The Unified Government created a set of incentives, which include cutting permit fees and water and sewer connection fees, for people who want to build on its land bank property to try to encourage redevelopment.—
Kansas City Star,
Kansas City Star,
18 Oct. 2025
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The prince also accused his father of cutting him off financially, and Meghan said the royals discussed denying their children prince and princess titles and police protection.—
Jack Royston,
MSNBC Newsweek,
18 Oct. 2025
Verb
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Next to a wooden model of an ibis and a Brazil shirt signed by 1994 World Cup winner Ricardo Rocha is a small newspaper clipping.—
Jack Lang,
New York Times,
11 Oct. 2025
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Tie branches with twine and add evergreen tassels, then insert photos in the branches, clipping them on, if needed, to hold in place.—
Emily Williams,
Better Homes & Gardens,
7 Oct. 2025
Verb
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Add nutrients back to your lawn by mowing over them.—
Arricca Elin SanSone,
Southern Living,
16 Oct. 2025
-
Around the house or farm, the USDA says habitat modifications can help prevent ticks, including mowing the grass, removing trees, reducing shade by thinning trees and placing mulch barriers.—
Chad Murphy,
Cincinnati Enquirer,
14 Oct. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Pruning.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/pruning. Accessed 19 Oct. 2025.
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