preen

1 of 3

verb (1)

preened; preening; preens

transitive verb

1
of a bird : to groom with the bill especially by rearranging the barbs and barbules of the feathers and by distributing oil from the uropygial gland
2
: to dress or smooth (oneself) up : primp
3
: to pride or congratulate (oneself) on an achievement

intransitive verb

1
: to make oneself sleek
2
: to behave or speak with obvious pride or self-satisfaction
preener noun

preen

2 of 3

noun

1
dialectal, chiefly British : pin
2
dialectal, chiefly British : brooch

preen

3 of 3

verb (2)

preened; preening; preens

transitive verb

chiefly Scotland
: pin

Did you know?

Preen hatched in 14th-century Middle English, and early on it displayed various spelling forms, including prenen, prayne, prene, and preyne. The word traces to the Anglo-French puroindre, or proindre, linking pur-, meaning "thoroughly," with uindre, oindre, meaning "to anoint or rub." One of the first writers known to apply preen to the human act of primping was Geoffrey Chaucer in The Canterbury Tales: "He preens himself and prunes and combs his curls / To take the fancy of this queen of girls." Centuries later (sometime during the late 19th century), the prideful meaning of preen took flight, joining bird-related verbs plume, which was being used with the meaning "to pride or congratulate (oneself)," and peacock, a word still used today to mean "to show off."

Examples of preen in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web
Verb
Punctuated by this: A prancing, preening celebration, high stepping with flailing arms across the court to within inches of the SDSU bench and nearly making contact with coach Brian Dutcher. Mark Zeigler, San Diego Union-Tribune, 16 Feb. 2024 Marsden's sparring with Gladden — who begins the series as a preening fanboy before realizing the Sonic the Hedgehog star might be the stupidest member of the jury — is the show's crowning glory. Declan Gallagher, EW.com, 8 Sep. 2023 The city’s resident beautiful boys—Deon Hinton, Tanner Reese, and Alexander Roth—preened in front of a jet-black step-and-repeat. Ian Malone, Vogue, 11 Feb. 2024 The movie’s preening title (effacing Everett’s Erasure, from 2001) raises impossible expectations. Armond White, National Review, 15 Dec. 2023 Lambert’s various costume changes and preening fully complemented the arena-sized music. Brad Auerbach, SPIN, 15 Nov. 2023 Other college coaches preen and scream on the sidelines. Louisa Thomas, The New Yorker, 1 Oct. 2023 Andy the Andean Condor preens his feathers at Tracy Aviary. Scott D. Pierce, The Salt Lake Tribune, 18 Aug. 2023 In Kate Myers’ funny, flinty debut, four women converge at a Greek archaeological dig led by a preening professor. Monitor Contributors, The Christian Science Monitor, 20 July 2023

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'preen.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

Word History

Etymology

Verb (1)

Middle English prenen, alteration of proynen, prunen, from Anglo-French puroindre, proindre, from pur- thoroughly + uindre, oindre to anoint, rub, from Latin unguere — more at purchase entry 1, ointment

Noun

Middle English prene, from Old English prēon; akin to Middle High German pfrieme awl

First Known Use

Verb (1)

14th century, in the meaning defined at transitive sense 1

Noun

before the 12th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Verb (2)

1572, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler
The first known use of preen was before the 12th century

Podcast

Dictionary Entries Near preen

Cite this Entry

“Preen.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/preen. Accessed 19 Mar. 2024.

Kids Definition

preen

verb
ˈprēn
1
: to groom with the bill
a bird preening its feathers
2
: to make one's appearance neat and tidy
preened in front of the mirror

More from Merriam-Webster on preen

Last Updated: - Updated example sentences
Love words? Need even more definitions?

Subscribe to America's largest dictionary and get thousands more definitions and advanced search—ad free!