as in shaving
to make (something) shorter or smaller with the use of a cutting instrument
pruned the dead branches from the old apple tree
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Recent Examples of pruning
The variety of blades can tackle several different pruning jobs, which makes this versatile set your new best friend until the first frost sets in.
—
Stephanie Osmanski, Better Homes & Gardens, 7 Sep. 2025
This includes reblooming types of azaleas like Encore because pruning them in September will encourage tender new growth that can be damaged by frosts or winter weather.
—Karen Brewer Grossman, Southern Living, 5 Sep. 2025
This is typically done using techniques like quantization, which involves using fewer bits to represent a model’s weights, or pruning out connections in the neural network that aren’t contributing much to performance.
—IEEE Spectrum, 3 Sep. 2025
Its food business, which includes Lay’s chips, Quaker, and Rice-A-Roni, is no longer strong enough to paper over its beverage weakness; Elliott suggests some pruning.
—Rohan Goswami, semafor.com, 2 Sep. 2025
Tools like pruning, quantization, and knowledge distillation all reduce model size or speed up inference.
—Ron Schmelzer, Forbes.com, 29 Aug. 2025
Elizabeth tracks Tanner’s alias Derek Ward to the flower shop Thorny Blooms and finds Tanner violently pruning flowers.
—Barry Levitt, Time, 28 Aug. 2025
This easy task is known as thumb pruning and facilitates keeping the bush open to air and sun.
—Rita Perwich, San Diego Union-Tribune, 4 Jan. 2025
Work pruning and removing trees began in the fall and is expected to be finished in early Spring 2025, officials said.
—Samantha Moilanen, Chicago Tribune, 2 Jan. 2025
Stephanie Osmanski, Better Homes & Gardens, 7 Sep. 2025
This includes reblooming types of azaleas like Encore because pruning them in September will encourage tender new growth that can be damaged by frosts or winter weather.
—Karen Brewer Grossman, Southern Living, 5 Sep. 2025
This is typically done using techniques like quantization, which involves using fewer bits to represent a model’s weights, or pruning out connections in the neural network that aren’t contributing much to performance.
—IEEE Spectrum, 3 Sep. 2025
Its food business, which includes Lay’s chips, Quaker, and Rice-A-Roni, is no longer strong enough to paper over its beverage weakness; Elliott suggests some pruning.
—Rohan Goswami, semafor.com, 2 Sep. 2025
Tools like pruning, quantization, and knowledge distillation all reduce model size or speed up inference.
—Ron Schmelzer, Forbes.com, 29 Aug. 2025
Elizabeth tracks Tanner’s alias Derek Ward to the flower shop Thorny Blooms and finds Tanner violently pruning flowers.
—Barry Levitt, Time, 28 Aug. 2025
This easy task is known as thumb pruning and facilitates keeping the bush open to air and sun.
—Rita Perwich, San Diego Union-Tribune, 4 Jan. 2025
Work pruning and removing trees began in the fall and is expected to be finished in early Spring 2025, officials said.
—Samantha Moilanen, Chicago Tribune, 2 Jan. 2025
Recent Examples of Synonyms for pruning
Verb
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Early on the morning of March 16th, Nayib Bukele, the President of El Salvador, posted video footage of Salvadoran agents marching the Venezuelan men into prison and shaving their heads.—
Jonathan Blitzer,
New Yorker,
8 Sep. 2025
-
One analyst suggested that shaving a percentage point off the state’s income tax could cut available revenues by roughly $5 billion.—
State House News Service,
Boston Herald,
4 Sep. 2025
Verb
-
The junior launched himself through a pile for a two-yard touchdown rush, trimming the deficit to 35-34.—
Brendan Connelly,
Boston Herald,
7 Sep. 2025
-
With revisions earlier this year mostly trimming prior readings, more downward revisions could be due.—
Jason Ma,
Fortune,
7 Sep. 2025
Verb
-
Barcelona’s decision was not a sporting one but based on cutting wages.—
Charlotte Harpur,
New York Times,
6 Sep. 2025
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There’s people cutting sandwiches, putting the sandwiches right to the camera, squeezing the juices.—
Kate Erbland,
IndieWire,
6 Sep. 2025
Verb
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Its audio comes through clean and detail-rich, with noise cancelling and automatic limiting to handle background chaos without clipping your voice.—
Juhi Wadia,
PC Magazine,
9 Sep. 2025
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Crews will complete work on the Riverfront Extension Project that requires a shutdown, like clipping wires and placing the overhead guide wire between Second and Third streets.—
Noelle Alviz-Gransee,
Kansas City Star,
8 Sep. 2025
Verb
-
Even though the weather is much more tolerable than in the hot summer months, once that fall feeling arrives, the end of mowing the grass for the year is in sight.—
Karen Brewer Grossman,
Southern Living,
2 Sep. 2025
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Homeowners should take care to check their yard thoroughly for rabbit nests before mowing their yard, with mowers also proving a major risk to kits.—
Rachael O'Connor,
MSNBC Newsweek,
1 Sep. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Pruning.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/pruning. Accessed 14 Sep. 2025.
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