preen

Etymology

Definitions

1. 1

   A forked tool used by clothiers for dressing cloth.

2. 2

   A pin.

   • 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. 3

   A bodkin

   A bodkin; brooch.

4. ›+ 8 more definitionsshow fewer

   1. 4

      To pin

      To pin; fasten.

   2. 5

      To groom

      To groom; to trim or dress the feathers with the beak.

   3. 6

      To spend time making oneself attractive and admiring one's appearance, e.g. in front of a…

      To spend time making oneself attractive and admiring one's appearance, e.g. in front of a mirror.

      • 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.
   4. 7

      To show off, posture, or smarm.

      • His preening self-satisfaction, chest thrown forward as he settles into a chair in his mansion...
      • Impressed by their looks and their dancing, but not their singing, Mr. Farian called them Milli Vanilli and recorded an album of lightweight, preening dance-pop under their name, using uncredited studio musicians.
      • He preened under her compliments.
   5. 8

      To flatter.

      • New York nurtured and preened the most sophisticated audiences in the nation.
   6. 9

      To comb

      To comb; to make orderly.

      • My two roommates are engineers who preen the diesels.
      • Preen the deer hair rearward around the hook shank, and take 3 tight thread wraps to secure it.
      • Now Prossiden's finger was brandished, and preened the air in front of Onascam's face with florid implications.
   7. 10

      To trim up, as trees.

      • Adjusting his spectacles on the bridge of his nose, he gently preened the bush with his pruners.
      • He'd imagined he could see the whole world from there, whilst the people below tended to their window boxes and preened the rose bushes, making this idyllic village pretty for the tourists.
      • I ignored him and looked around, wondering who preened the conical fir trees on each ledge of the building.
   8. 11

      To improve the appearance of

      To improve the appearance of; groom; prettify.

      • 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 —”
      • Clearly this is not heritage tourism development. Instead it recommends how to preen the city for the uncritical gaze of a kind of tourist who willingly accepts low-grade commercialized leisure.
      • He'd built a lodge and preened the country, and imported or otherwise attracted the game, and then found that no one came.

The neighborhood

• neighborprimp