Horning

name, noun, verb

name, noun, verb ·2 syllables ·Rare ·Advanced level

Definitions

Noun
  1. 1
    The activity of blowing the horn of a train. countable, uncountable

    "As of this past summer, residents on the Woodside, Forest Hills and Kew Gardens line have been subjected to the same kind of horning, even though our line has no grade crossings and therefore Federal Railroad Administration horn-sounding regulations do not apply."

  2. 2
    The appearance of the Moon when increasing, or in the form of a crescent. countable, uncountable

    "the Horning, which is the cauſe why they ſet up in their Steeples a Creſcent"

  3. 3
    A mock serenade with tin horns and other discordant instruments by way of showing public disapproval. US, countable, historical, uncountable
  4. 4
    The issuing of letters of horning. Scotland, countable, uncountable
Verb
  1. 1
    present participle and gerund of horn form-of, gerund, participle, present
Proper Noun
  1. 1
    A village and civil parish in Broadland district, Norfolk, England (OS grid ref TG3417).

Example

More examples

"As of this past summer, residents on the Woodside, Forest Hills and Kew Gardens line have been subjected to the same kind of horning, even though our line has no grade crossings and therefore Federal Railroad Administration horn-sounding regulations do not apply."

Etymology

From Middle English hornynge; equivalent to horn + -ing.

Related phrases

Data sourced from Wiktionary, WordNet, CMU, and other open linguistic databases. Updated March 2026.