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preen

Pronunciation: /priːn/
Translate preen | into French | into German | into Italian | into Spanish
Definition of preen

verb

[no object]
  • (of a bird) tidy and clean its feathers with its beak:reed buntings preened at the pool’s edge [with object]:the pigeon preened her feathers
  • (also preen oneself) (of a person) devote effort to making oneself look attractive and then admire one’s appearance:adolescents preening in their bedroom mirrors
  • (preen oneself) congratulate or pride oneself:he’s busy preening himself on acquiring such a pretty girlfriend

Derivatives

preener

noun

Origin:

late Middle English: apparently a variant of obsolete prune (based on Latin ungere 'anoint'), in the same sense, associated with Scots and northern English dialect preen 'pierce, pin' (because of the ‘pricking’ action of the bird's beak)

preen in other Oxford dictionaries

Definition of preen in the US English dictionary

Nearby words

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