Definition of preen in English:

preen

verb priːnprin

[no object]

1(of a bird) tidy and clean its feathers with its beak.
reed buntings preened at the pool's edge
with object the pigeon preened her feathers
Example sentencesExamples
- The edge of the ice had started to melt, creating a narrow stream where some of the birds were happily preening, flapping showers of droplets into the air.
- Watch any bird for a while, and you will see that it spends a lot of time preening its feathers and bathing in water or dust.
- They then spend several hours preening and drying their feathers.
- Birds use their beaks to keep their feathers in order; you know this action as preening.
- This louse is the only common parasite on satin bowerbirds, and it is found mainly around the head and eyes where birds cannot easily preen.
- Anatids spend copious amounts of time in the water and spend a great deal of time on preening and feather maintenance.
- The penguins ingest the oil as they preen their feathers, which changes the birds' immune systems, making them more vulnerable to disease.
- If these substances come into contact with bird feathers they are impossible for the bird to preen or wash out.
- With hundreds of new feathers regenerating, the bird must preen constantly.
- When preening, birds nibble and stroke their feathers, returning them to correct position.
- The tall white birds preen, squawk, and soar majestically, like snowy B - 52s.
Synonyms
clean, tidy, groom, smooth, arrange
archaic plume, prink
1. 1.1also preen oneself (of a person) devote effort to making oneself look attractive and then admire one's appearance.
  adolescents preening in their bedroom mirrors
  Example sentencesExamples
  Not that I was the only one: I noticed how all the women preened themselves when he walked into the room, flirting with him and laughing outrageously at his jokes.
  We're always expected to be preening ourselves, so it was a pretty nice opportunity not to have to think about that stuff for a while.
  They start cramming the barricades, the ladies start primping and preening themselves in their compact mirrors.
  Humans are like animals: when they stop preening themselves, you've got to worry.
  That's why the contestants spend so much time preening themselves in front of a mirror.
  Unable to summon up the courage to venture inside and make myself a cup of tea, I returned to the lounge where Amy was still preening herself.
  He disappeared for a while and then I found him at the dressing table, preening himself before the mirror.
  In Prof. Patterson's class, which is must have a women to men ration of 10: 1, all of the gum smacking coeds are preening themselves in the mirror.
  They were the ones for which she would preen herself for every night for what seemed like bloody hours (hair, makeup, clothes).
  Television stars had been preening themselves for the red carpet at Claridges, where some of the hottest designers, make-up artists, jewellers and hair stylists had taken up residence.
  Synonyms
  admire oneself, primp oneself, primp, prink oneself
  pretty oneself, prettify oneself, smarten oneself, beautify oneself, make oneself pretty/smart/beautiful, groom oneself, tidy oneself, spruce oneself up
  informal titivate oneself, doll oneself up
  British informal tart oneself up
  North American informal gussy oneself up
  archaic plume oneself, trig oneself
2. 1.2preen oneself Congratulate or pride oneself.
  it did not prevent them from preening themselves on their achievement
  Example sentencesExamples
  All we saw them do was sit in restaurants preening themselves and getting drunk on wine.
  He was there last week, preening himself, powerful and proud as ever, but unmistakably a man who had overstayed his welcome.
  ‘As you wish, Captain,’ Tyrr replied simply, mentally preening himself for the accomplishment.
  For almost 10 years, I have preened myself on this single modest benefaction.
  This means they don't know when to stop preening themselves.
  We preened ourselves for reaching the quarter-finals of soccer's World Cup, and now it doesn't matter so much if we don't bring home the Ashes, just as long as we don't get battered in every game.
  The police last week in Sunderland preened themselves on how good intelligence had enabled them to spot and control the troublemakers.
  Synonyms
  congratulate oneself, be pleased with oneself, pride oneself, be proud of oneself, pat oneself on the back, give oneself a pat on the back, feel self-satisfied
  archaic pique oneself

Derivatives

preener

noun

The second study suggested that birds with longer bill overhangs are more efficient preeners because the overhang helps birds create a shearing force that crushes ectoparasites.

Origin

Late Middle English: apparently a variant of obsolete prune (based on Latin ungere 'anoint'), in the same sense, associated with Scots and northern English dialect preen 'pierce, pin' (because of the ‘pricking’ action of the bird's beak).

Rhymes

Aberdeen, Amin, aquamarine, baleen, bean, been, beguine, Benin, between, canteen, careen, Claudine, clean, contravene, convene, cuisine, dean, Dene, e'en, eighteen, fascine, fedayeen, fifteen, figurine, foreseen, fourteen, Francine, gean, gene, glean, gombeen, green, Greene, Halloween, intervene, Janine, Jean, Jeannine, Jolene, Kean, keen, Keene, Ladin, langoustine, latrine, lean, limousine, machine, Maclean, magazine, Malines, margarine, marine, Mascarene, Massine, Maxine, mean, Medellín, mesne, mien, Moline, moreen, mujahedin, Nadine, nankeen, Nazarene, Nene, nineteen, nougatine, obscene, palanquin, peen, poteen, quean, Rabin, Racine, ramin, ravine, routine, Sabine, saltine, sardine, sarin, sateen, scene, screen, seen, serene, seventeen, shagreen, shebeen, sheen, sixteen, spleen, spring-clean, squireen, Steen, submarine, supervene, tambourine, tangerine, teen, terrine, thirteen, transmarine, treen, tureen, Tyrrhene, ultramarine, umpteen, velveteen, wean, ween, Wheen, yean

Definition of preen in US English:

preen

verbprēnprin

[no object]

1(of a bird) straighten and clean its feathers with its beak.
robins preened at the pool's edge
with object the pigeon preened her feathers
Example sentencesExamples
- If these substances come into contact with bird feathers they are impossible for the bird to preen or wash out.
- Anatids spend copious amounts of time in the water and spend a great deal of time on preening and feather maintenance.
- The penguins ingest the oil as they preen their feathers, which changes the birds' immune systems, making them more vulnerable to disease.
- Birds use their beaks to keep their feathers in order; you know this action as preening.
- The tall white birds preen, squawk, and soar majestically, like snowy B - 52s.
- When preening, birds nibble and stroke their feathers, returning them to correct position.
- The edge of the ice had started to melt, creating a narrow stream where some of the birds were happily preening, flapping showers of droplets into the air.
- With hundreds of new feathers regenerating, the bird must preen constantly.
- They then spend several hours preening and drying their feathers.
- This louse is the only common parasite on satin bowerbirds, and it is found mainly around the head and eyes where birds cannot easily preen.
- Watch any bird for a while, and you will see that it spends a lot of time preening its feathers and bathing in water or dust.
Synonyms
clean, tidy, groom, smooth, arrange
1. 1.1 (of a person) devote effort to making oneself look attractive and then admire one's appearance.
  adolescents preening in their bedroom mirrors
  Example sentencesExamples
  He disappeared for a while and then I found him at the dressing table, preening himself before the mirror.
  They start cramming the barricades, the ladies start primping and preening themselves in their compact mirrors.
  That's why the contestants spend so much time preening themselves in front of a mirror.
  Humans are like animals: when they stop preening themselves, you've got to worry.
  In Prof. Patterson's class, which is must have a women to men ration of 10: 1, all of the gum smacking coeds are preening themselves in the mirror.
  Unable to summon up the courage to venture inside and make myself a cup of tea, I returned to the lounge where Amy was still preening herself.
  Not that I was the only one: I noticed how all the women preened themselves when he walked into the room, flirting with him and laughing outrageously at his jokes.
  We're always expected to be preening ourselves, so it was a pretty nice opportunity not to have to think about that stuff for a while.
  They were the ones for which she would preen herself for every night for what seemed like bloody hours (hair, makeup, clothes).
  Television stars had been preening themselves for the red carpet at Claridges, where some of the hottest designers, make-up artists, jewellers and hair stylists had taken up residence.
  Synonyms
  admire oneself, primp oneself, primp, prink oneself
2. 1.2preen oneself Congratulate or pride oneself.
  it did not prevent them from preening themselves on their achievement
  Example sentencesExamples
  ‘As you wish, Captain,’ Tyrr replied simply, mentally preening himself for the accomplishment.
  We preened ourselves for reaching the quarter-finals of soccer's World Cup, and now it doesn't matter so much if we don't bring home the Ashes, just as long as we don't get battered in every game.
  The police last week in Sunderland preened themselves on how good intelligence had enabled them to spot and control the troublemakers.
  This means they don't know when to stop preening themselves.
  All we saw them do was sit in restaurants preening themselves and getting drunk on wine.
  He was there last week, preening himself, powerful and proud as ever, but unmistakably a man who had overstayed his welcome.
  For almost 10 years, I have preened myself on this single modest benefaction.
  Synonyms
  congratulate oneself, be pleased with oneself, pride oneself, be proud of oneself, pat oneself on the back, give oneself a pat on the back, feel self-satisfied

Origin

Late Middle English: apparently a variant of obsolete prune (based on Latin ungere ‘anoint’), in the same sense, associated with Scots and northern English dialect preen ‘pierce, pin’ (because of the ‘pricking’ action of the bird's beak).

单词	preen
释义	Definition of preen in English: preen verb priːnprin [no object] 1(of a bird) tidy and clean its feathers with its beak. reed buntings preened at the pool's edge with object the pigeon preened her feathers Example sentencesExamples The edge of the ice had started to melt, creating a narrow stream where some of the birds were happily preening, flapping showers of droplets into the air. Watch any bird for a while, and you will see that it spends a lot of time preening its feathers and bathing in water or dust. They then spend several hours preening and drying their feathers. Birds use their beaks to keep their feathers in order; you know this action as preening. This louse is the only common parasite on satin bowerbirds, and it is found mainly around the head and eyes where birds cannot easily preen. Anatids spend copious amounts of time in the water and spend a great deal of time on preening and feather maintenance. The penguins ingest the oil as they preen their feathers, which changes the birds' immune systems, making them more vulnerable to disease. If these substances come into contact with bird feathers they are impossible for the bird to preen or wash out. With hundreds of new feathers regenerating, the bird must preen constantly. When preening, birds nibble and stroke their feathers, returning them to correct position. The tall white birds preen, squawk, and soar majestically, like snowy B - 52s. Synonyms clean, tidy, groom, smooth, arrange archaic plume, prink 1.1also preen oneself (of a person) devote effort to making oneself look attractive and then admire one's appearance. adolescents preening in their bedroom mirrors Example sentencesExamples Not that I was the only one: I noticed how all the women preened themselves when he walked into the room, flirting with him and laughing outrageously at his jokes. We're always expected to be preening ourselves, so it was a pretty nice opportunity not to have to think about that stuff for a while. They start cramming the barricades, the ladies start primping and preening themselves in their compact mirrors. Humans are like animals: when they stop preening themselves, you've got to worry. That's why the contestants spend so much time preening themselves in front of a mirror. Unable to summon up the courage to venture inside and make myself a cup of tea, I returned to the lounge where Amy was still preening herself. He disappeared for a while and then I found him at the dressing table, preening himself before the mirror. In Prof. Patterson's class, which is must have a women to men ration of 10: 1, all of the gum smacking coeds are preening themselves in the mirror. They were the ones for which she would preen herself for every night for what seemed like bloody hours (hair, makeup, clothes). Television stars had been preening themselves for the red carpet at Claridges, where some of the hottest designers, make-up artists, jewellers and hair stylists had taken up residence. Synonyms admire oneself, primp oneself, primp, prink oneself pretty oneself, prettify oneself, smarten oneself, beautify oneself, make oneself pretty/smart/beautiful, groom oneself, tidy oneself, spruce oneself up informal titivate oneself, doll oneself up British informal tart oneself up North American informal gussy oneself up archaic plume oneself, trig oneself 1.2preen oneself Congratulate or pride oneself. it did not prevent them from preening themselves on their achievement Example sentencesExamples All we saw them do was sit in restaurants preening themselves and getting drunk on wine. He was there last week, preening himself, powerful and proud as ever, but unmistakably a man who had overstayed his welcome. ‘As you wish, Captain,’ Tyrr replied simply, mentally preening himself for the accomplishment. For almost 10 years, I have preened myself on this single modest benefaction. This means they don't know when to stop preening themselves. We preened ourselves for reaching the quarter-finals of soccer's World Cup, and now it doesn't matter so much if we don't bring home the Ashes, just as long as we don't get battered in every game. The police last week in Sunderland preened themselves on how good intelligence had enabled them to spot and control the troublemakers. Synonyms congratulate oneself, be pleased with oneself, pride oneself, be proud of oneself, pat oneself on the back, give oneself a pat on the back, feel self-satisfied archaic pique oneself Derivatives preener noun The second study suggested that birds with longer bill overhangs are more efficient preeners because the overhang helps birds create a shearing force that crushes ectoparasites. Origin Late Middle English: apparently a variant of obsolete prune (based on Latin ungere 'anoint'), in the same sense, associated with Scots and northern English dialect preen 'pierce, pin' (because of the ‘pricking’ action of the bird's beak). Rhymes Aberdeen, Amin, aquamarine, baleen, bean, been, beguine, Benin, between, canteen, careen, Claudine, clean, contravene, convene, cuisine, dean, Dene, e'en, eighteen, fascine, fedayeen, fifteen, figurine, foreseen, fourteen, Francine, gean, gene, glean, gombeen, green, Greene, Halloween, intervene, Janine, Jean, Jeannine, Jolene, Kean, keen, Keene, Ladin, langoustine, latrine, lean, limousine, machine, Maclean, magazine, Malines, margarine, marine, Mascarene, Massine, Maxine, mean, Medellín, mesne, mien, Moline, moreen, mujahedin, Nadine, nankeen, Nazarene, Nene, nineteen, nougatine, obscene, palanquin, peen, poteen, quean, Rabin, Racine, ramin, ravine, routine, Sabine, saltine, sardine, sarin, sateen, scene, screen, seen, serene, seventeen, shagreen, shebeen, sheen, sixteen, spleen, spring-clean, squireen, Steen, submarine, supervene, tambourine, tangerine, teen, terrine, thirteen, transmarine, treen, tureen, Tyrrhene, ultramarine, umpteen, velveteen, wean, ween, Wheen, yean Definition of preen in US English: preen verbprēnprin [no object] 1(of a bird) straighten and clean its feathers with its beak. robins preened at the pool's edge with object the pigeon preened her feathers Example sentencesExamples If these substances come into contact with bird feathers they are impossible for the bird to preen or wash out. Anatids spend copious amounts of time in the water and spend a great deal of time on preening and feather maintenance. The penguins ingest the oil as they preen their feathers, which changes the birds' immune systems, making them more vulnerable to disease. Birds use their beaks to keep their feathers in order; you know this action as preening. The tall white birds preen, squawk, and soar majestically, like snowy B - 52s. When preening, birds nibble and stroke their feathers, returning them to correct position. The edge of the ice had started to melt, creating a narrow stream where some of the birds were happily preening, flapping showers of droplets into the air. With hundreds of new feathers regenerating, the bird must preen constantly. They then spend several hours preening and drying their feathers. This louse is the only common parasite on satin bowerbirds, and it is found mainly around the head and eyes where birds cannot easily preen. Watch any bird for a while, and you will see that it spends a lot of time preening its feathers and bathing in water or dust. Synonyms clean, tidy, groom, smooth, arrange 1.1 (of a person) devote effort to making oneself look attractive and then admire one's appearance. adolescents preening in their bedroom mirrors Example sentencesExamples He disappeared for a while and then I found him at the dressing table, preening himself before the mirror. They start cramming the barricades, the ladies start primping and preening themselves in their compact mirrors. That's why the contestants spend so much time preening themselves in front of a mirror. Humans are like animals: when they stop preening themselves, you've got to worry. In Prof. Patterson's class, which is must have a women to men ration of 10: 1, all of the gum smacking coeds are preening themselves in the mirror. Unable to summon up the courage to venture inside and make myself a cup of tea, I returned to the lounge where Amy was still preening herself. Not that I was the only one: I noticed how all the women preened themselves when he walked into the room, flirting with him and laughing outrageously at his jokes. We're always expected to be preening ourselves, so it was a pretty nice opportunity not to have to think about that stuff for a while. They were the ones for which she would preen herself for every night for what seemed like bloody hours (hair, makeup, clothes). Television stars had been preening themselves for the red carpet at Claridges, where some of the hottest designers, make-up artists, jewellers and hair stylists had taken up residence. Synonyms admire oneself, primp oneself, primp, prink oneself 1.2preen oneself Congratulate or pride oneself. it did not prevent them from preening themselves on their achievement Example sentencesExamples ‘As you wish, Captain,’ Tyrr replied simply, mentally preening himself for the accomplishment. We preened ourselves for reaching the quarter-finals of soccer's World Cup, and now it doesn't matter so much if we don't bring home the Ashes, just as long as we don't get battered in every game. The police last week in Sunderland preened themselves on how good intelligence had enabled them to spot and control the troublemakers. This means they don't know when to stop preening themselves. All we saw them do was sit in restaurants preening themselves and getting drunk on wine. He was there last week, preening himself, powerful and proud as ever, but unmistakably a man who had overstayed his welcome. For almost 10 years, I have preened myself on this single modest benefaction. Synonyms congratulate oneself, be pleased with oneself, pride oneself, be proud of oneself, pat oneself on the back, give oneself a pat on the back, feel self-satisfied Origin Late Middle English: apparently a variant of obsolete prune (based on Latin ungere ‘anoint’), in the same sense, associated with Scots and northern English dialect preen ‘pierce, pin’ (because of the ‘pricking’ action of the bird's beak).
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