What does preen mean?

Definitions for preen
prinpreen

This dictionary definitions page includes all the possible meanings, example usage and translations of the word preen.

Princeton's WordNet

  1. preen, plumeverb

    clean with one's bill

    "The birds preened"

  2. preen, congratulateverb

    pride or congratulate (oneself) for an achievement

  3. preen, primp, plume, dressverb

    dress or groom with elaborate care

    "She likes to dress when going to the opera"

GCIDE

  1. Preenverb

    Hence: To dress (oneself) carefully or stylishly; to primp.

  2. Preenverb

    To pride (oneself) on one's accomplishments; to congratulate (oneself).

  3. Preenverb

    To feel proud of one's achievement; to swell or gloat.

Samuel Johnson's Dictionary

  1. To Preenverb

    To trim the feathers of birds, to enable them to glide more easily through the air: for this use nature has furnished them with two peculiar glands, which secrete an unctuous matter into a perforated oil bag, out of which the bird, on occasion, draws it with its bill. Nathan Bailey

    Etymology: priinen, Dutch, to dress or prank up.

ChatGPT

  1. preen

    To preen means to devote effort to making oneself look attractive, often by adjusting one's clothes, hair, or makeup, often out of vanity or pride. Meanwhile, in zoology, it refers to a bird's grooming behavior of cleaning and straightening its feathers with its beak.

Webster Dictionary

  1. Preennoun

    a forked tool used by clothiers in dressing cloth

  2. Preennoun

    to dress with, or as with, a preen; to trim or dress with the beak, as the feathers; -- said of birds

  3. Preennoun

    to trim up, as trees

  4. Etymology: [See Preen, n.; or cf. Prune.]

Chambers 20th Century Dictionary

  1. Preen

    prēn, v.t. to compose and arrange as birds do their feathers. [Prune (v.).]

  2. Preen

    prēn, n. (Scot.) a pin.—v.t. to fasten. [A.S. preón, a pin.]

Matched Categories

Anagrams for preen »

  1. neper

  2. repen

How to pronounce preen?

How to say preen in sign language?

Numerology

  1. Chaldean Numerology

    The numerical value of preen in Chaldean Numerology is: 7

  2. Pythagorean Numerology

    The numerical value of preen in Pythagorean Numerology is: 4

Examples of preen in a Sentence

  1. Francis M. Faber Jr.:

    Hayward Beach asserted that Alexander the Great designed and named an instrument to preen the fur and whiskers of his 'camp-felines', the 'catacomb':

Popularity rank by frequency of use

preen#100000#118633#333333

Translations for preen

From our Multilingual Translation Dictionary

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"preen." Definitions.net. STANDS4 LLC, 2024. Web. 13 May 2024. <https://www.definitions.net/definition/preen>.

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    pass through the tissue or substance or its pores or interstices, as of gas
    A abase
    B elaborate
    C transpire
    D summon

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