Definitions
from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition.
- intransitive verb To smooth or clean (feathers) with the beak or bill.
- intransitive verb To trim or clean (fur) with the tongue, as cats do.
- intransitive verb To dress or groom (oneself) with elaborate care; primp.
- intransitive verb To take pride or satisfaction in (oneself); gloat.
- intransitive verb To dress up; primp.
- intransitive verb To swell with pride; gloat or exult.
from The Century Dictionary.
- To pin; fasten.
- noun A pin.
- noun A bodkin; a brooch.
- noun A forked instrument used by clothiers in dressing cloth.
- To prune or trim, as a tree.
- To trim, dress, or fix with the beak, as a bird its plumage; plume.
from the GNU version of the Collaborative International Dictionary of English.
- transitive verb To dress with, or as with, a preen; to trim or dress with the beak, as the feathers; -- said of birds.
- transitive verb Prov. Eng. To trim up, as trees.
- transitive verb To dress (oneself) carefully or stylishly; to primp.
- transitive verb To pride (oneself) on one's accomplishments; to congratulate (oneself).
- noun A forked tool used by clothiers in dressing cloth.
- intransitive verb To dress up neatly and smartly; to make oneself well-groomed and well-dressed.
- intransitive verb To feel proud of one's achievement; to swell or gloat.
from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.
- noun A
pin . - noun A
bodkin ;brooch . - noun A forked
instrument used by clothiers in dressing cloth. - verb transitive To
pin ;fasten . - verb of birds To
groom ; totrim or dress with thebeak , as thefeathers . - verb To
show off ,posture , orsmarm . - verb UK, dialect, dated To
trim up , astrees .
from WordNet 3.0 Copyright 2006 by Princeton University. All rights reserved.
- verb clean with one's bill
- verb dress or groom with elaborate care
- verb pride or congratulate (oneself) for an achievement
Etymologies
from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 4th Edition
from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License
from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License
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Examples
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Continuing in "preen mode" (we don't do it very often), we note, however, that The Sunday Telegraph – like the Telegraph and Argus the day before – failed to pick up on the EU link, and thus failed to remind us that the bulk of the petty restrictions stem from the implementation of EU law on landfill and recycling.
The stench of hypocrisy Richard 2006
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When birds "preen" and try to remove the oil, they can swallow it and be poisoned.
Scientists watch for environmental effects of Gulf of Mexico oil spill 2010
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When birds "preen" and try to remove the oil, they can swallow it and be poisoned.
Scientists watch for environmental effects of Gulf of Mexico oil spill 2010
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I don't cite Ernesto to brag well, maybe to "preen".
Archive 2007-03-01 2007
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Instead, we allow members of Congress to posture and preen for the cameras.
Daniel Hough Jones: Compel Congress to Work Daniel Hough Jones 2011
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I suppose there are places in America where such a show might still jolt its viewers, but to see "The Scottsboro Boys" on Broadway is to witness a nightly act of collective self-congratulation in which the right-thinking members of the audience preen themselves complacently at the thought of their own enlightenment.
A Perilous Page of History to Turn Terry Teachout 2010
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Resolutely unglamorous, Chadsey's young men, no hunks, preen and pose, sometimes grotesquely transformed by superimpositions that seem to be materialized projections of their fantasies, like the vulpine shadow in "Portrait (Pink Beak)," the black mud luchador mask (or terrorist balaclava) in "Blackface Rod," the dangling penis in the standing/spread-eagled protagonist of "Marines," or the extra sets of arms in the androgynous "Red Head (Shift)."
ArtScene: This Month's Top Exhibitions in the Western United States ArtScene 2011
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You guys would rather preen in a moral mirror, than actually win.
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Resolutely unglamorous, Chadsey's young men, no hunks, preen and pose, sometimes grotesquely transformed by superimpositions that seem to be materialized projections of their fantasies, like the vulpine shadow in "Portrait (Pink Beak)," the black mud luchador mask (or terrorist balaclava) in "Blackface Rod," the dangling penis in the standing/spread-eagled protagonist of "Marines," or the extra sets of arms in the androgynous "Red Head (Shift)."
ArtScene: This Month's Top Exhibitions in the Western United States ArtScene 2011
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The moggies bound off surfaces in super slo-mo as classy piano music plays; they preen, they paw, they nuzzle, then snuggle into shelf space like their species 'very existence depends on it.
The Hard Sell: Ikea James Donaghy 2010
brtom commented on the word preen
Swans from Anna Liffey swim down here sometimes to preen themselves. No accounting for tastes.
Joyce, Ulysses, 8
January 3, 2007