prune

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“
One important reason to prune is to eliminate crossed and rubbing branches because rubbing branches can lead to open wounds.

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Definitions (23)

Toggle American Heritage definitions American Heritage Dictionary (8)

  1. noun The partially dried fruit of any of several varieties of the common plum, Prunus domestica.
  2. noun Any kind of plum that can be dried without spoiling.
  3. noun Slang An ill-tempered, stupid, or incompetent person.
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Examples (50)

  • He told his sister she was thinking like a dried-up old prune, and it was all her own fault because she'd never bothered to remarry after her first husband died. —  Garwood, Julie - Prince Charming
  • Two hours later, me as desiccated as a prune, the crowd surged out, scrambled for buses and dashed for the Tube. —  dummy 3
  • Here is your chance to prune, wire and style a bonsai plant with Martha Meehan of Meehan's Miniatures. —  Blog updates
  • Pruning plants can create some uncertainty but depending on what type of plant you are dealing with will determine how to prune, doing some research on the specific type of plant you have will help in understanding your plant pruning needs. —  All Categories Featured Content - Associated Content
  • Winter, a plating of cranberry parfait, walnut nougatine, soft meringue and a cinnamon doughnut and prune-Armagnac jam, they were both very good. —  The Wandering Eater
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Roget's II Roget's II: The New Thesaurus

Allen's Allen's Synonyms and Antonyms

Used in the same context Used in the Same Context

currant ·  strawberry ·  apricot ·  tomato ·  macaroni ·  pineapple ·  lemon ·  celery ·  pear ·  grape ·  banana ·  cocoanut

Used in the same contextWord Family

prune:   prunes ·  pruning ·  pruned
Roget's II: The New Thesaurus, Third Edition by the Editors of the American Heritage® Dictionary. Copyright © 2003, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

Etymologies (4)

Toggle American Heritage etymologies American Heritage Dictionary (2)

  1. Middle English, from Old French, from Vulgar Latin *prūna, from Latin prūnum, plum.
  2. Middle English prouinen, from Old French proignier, perhaps from Vulgar Latin *prōretundiāre : Latin prō-, in front; see pro-1 + Latin rotundus, round (from rota, wheel; see ret- in Indo-European roots).

Toggle Century etymologies Century Dictionary (2)

  1. from French prune = Spanish Portuguese pruno = Italian pruno, from Latin prunum, a plum, prunus, plum-tree, from Greek προῦνον, a plum, προῦνος, plum-tree, earlier προῦμνον, plum, προύμνη, plum-tree: see plum.
  2. Early modern English also proin, proyn; also preen (prob. due in part to confusion with preen); from Middle English prunen, proinen, proynen, trim or adorn oneself, prob. also in the sense of ‘trim trees,’ ‘take a cutting from a vine,’ from Old French proignier, proognier, prougner, progner, preugner, prooingnier, contr. of provigner, French provigner (later English provine), lay (a slip or cutting of a vine), layer, propagate, multiply, from provin, provain, French provin = Italian propaggine, a slip or cutting of a vine, a layer, sucker, from Latin propago (propagin-), a layer, sucker: see propago, propagate. Cf. provine.
 

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