preen Hear it!

preen definition

preen (prēn)

transitive verb

  1. to clean and trim (the feathers) with the beak: said of birds
  2. to make (oneself) trim; dress up or adorn (oneself)
  3. to show satisfaction with or vanity in (oneself)

Etymology: ME preynen, altered (infl. by preonen, to prick with a pin < preon < OE, a pin) < proinen, to prune

intransitive verb

to dress up in a fussy way; prink or primp

Related Forms:

Webster's New World College Dictionary Copyright © 2009 by Wiley Publishing, Inc., Cleveland, Ohio.
Used by arrangement with John Wiley & Sons, Inc.

Comments
Improve this definition.
Do you have more to add? Share your linguistic knowledge or observation.
/Register to save your comments.