What does "preen" mean?
A forked tool used by clothiers for dressing cloth.
Preen
/pɹiːn/ noun, verb
noun, verb ·Moderate ·High school level
Meaning at a glance
- Primary sense: A forked tool used by clothiers for dressing cloth.
- Grammar: preen is listed as noun, verb.
- Nearest alternatives: primp, adorn, array, attitudinizes.
- Useful contrasts: downplay, humble oneself, ignore.
- Usage evidence: A duck will preen its feathers many times over the course of the day.
How to use "preen"
- Start with the primary definition, then check the part of speech before placing the word in a sentence.
- Compare nearby synonyms to make sure "preen" carries the exact meaning, tone, and strength you need.
- Use the example sentence as a context check. If your sentence uses the word differently, confirm that the grammar still fits.
Meaning check
- Does the word fit the sentence's grammar?
- Does it match the intended tone rather than only the dictionary definition?
- Would a simpler synonym be clearer for the reader?
- Is there enough surrounding context to prevent ambiguity?
Source and review context
This entry combines structured lexical data with WordToolSet review checks. Definitions, examples, synonyms, and usage notes may come from different source tables, so the page is designed to show evidence from more than one angle before you rely on "preen" in a final draft.
If a word has several senses, prefer the sense that matches your sentence's grammar and surrounding context. A correct definition can still be the wrong choice when the sentence needs a different register, emphasis, or level of specificity.
Before you rely on this definition
Read the first definition as a starting point, then check the example, synonyms, and part of speech before treating "preen" as the right word for your sentence.
If your draft is formal, technical, persuasive, or sensitive, compare "preen" with a nearby alternative so the final choice matches both meaning and reader expectation.
Compare nearby meanings
- Use synonyms when you need a softer, stronger, simpler, or more specific word.
- Use antonyms to check the boundary of the meaning and avoid accidental contrast.
- Use the example sentence to confirm the word behaves naturally in context.
- Keep the original wording when a replacement adds complexity without improving precision.
Definition decision workflow
1. Identify the role
Check whether "preen" is acting as noun, verb in your sentence. A definition is only useful when the grammar matches the way the word is being used.
2. Test the nearest option
Compare it with "primp" and other nearby choices to see whether the sentence needs a softer, stronger, or more familiar word.
3. Confirm with context
Use the example sentence below as an evidence check, then read your own sentence out loud to catch tone or rhythm problems.
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Final meaning check
Before publishing a sentence with "preen", ask whether the word helps the reader understand the idea faster. A precise word should reduce confusion, not simply make the sentence look more polished.
When the definition, synonym evidence, and example context point in the same direction, the word is usually a safer choice. When they conflict, revise the sentence or choose a clearer alternative.
Definitions
Noun
- 1 A forked tool used by clothiers for dressing cloth.
- 2 A pin. dialectal
"She never seemed to want for siller; the house was as bright as a new preen, the yaird better delved than the manse garden; […]"
- 3 A bodkin; brooch. dialectal
Verb
- 1 To pin; fasten. transitive
- 2 To groom; to trim or dress the feathers with the beak. ambitransitive
- 3 dress or groom with elaborate care wordnet
- 4 To spend time making oneself attractive and admiring one's appearance, e.g. in front of a mirror. intransitive, reflexive
"Mr Kernan halted and preened himself before the sloping mirror of Peter Kennedy, hairdresser. Stylish coat, beyond a doubt. Scott of Dawson street. Well worth the half sovereign I gave Neary for it."
- 5 pride or congratulate (oneself) for an achievement wordnet
Show 6 more definitions
- 6 To show off, posture, or smarm. intransitive
"His preening self-satisfaction, chest thrown forward as he settles into a chair in his mansion..."
- 7 clean with one's bill wordnet
- 8 To flatter. transitive
"In Miller's view the play is expressive of a peculiarly Renaissance vision of the harmonious marriage within the orderly society: 'its spirit derives from Elizabethan Puritanism's view of the household as an orderly place in whichc the marriage is consecrated not in the church but in the orderly procedures of domesticity ; in which obedience is required , not in order to preen the male pride of the father, but to restore order in a fallen world '"
- 9 To comb; to make orderly. transitive
"My two roommates are engineers who preen the diesels."
- 10 To trim up, as trees. transitive
"Adjusting his spectacles on the bridge of his nose, he gently preened the bush with his pruners."
- 11 To improve the appearance of; groom; prettify. broadly, transitive
"He brushed and preened the marquis, front and back. “Lucky we are, Your Grace, no gashes that I see. But the beard is in a woeful state —”"
Example
"A duck will preen its feathers many times over the course of the day."
Common questions
What is a synonym for "preen"?
Common synonyms include: primp, adorn, array, attitudinizes, beautify, bedeck.
How do you use "preen" in a sentence?
A duck will preen its feathers many times over the course of the day.
How do you pronounce "preen"?
Pronounced /pɹiːn/.
Etymology
Etymology 1
From Middle English pren, from Old English prēon, from Proto-Germanic *preunaz (compare Icelandic prjónn (“pin, knitting-needle”), Danish pryne (“needle, eel-spear”)), of uncertain origin, but perhaps from Proto-Indo-European *brewn- (“protrusion, tip, edge”) (compare Lithuanian briaunà (“edge”), Albanian brez (“belt, girdle”)). Cognate with German Pfriem. The verb is from Middle English prenen, from pren (“a preen”), akin to German pfriemen.
Etymology 2
Variant of prune (by influence of preen above). Attested in Chaucer (c. 1395) in the variants preyneth, prayneth, proyneth, prunyht, pruneth, from Old French proignier (“to trim the feathers with the beak”).