preen /pɹiːn/verb 8noun 3forms 3 verb8 •To groom; to trim or dress the feathers with the beak. •[with oneself] To spend time making oneself attractive and admiring one's appearance, e.g. in front of a mirror.Mr Kernan halted and preened himself before the sloping mirror of Peter Kennedy, hairdresser. Stylish coat, beyond a doubt. Scott of Dawson street. Well worth the half sovereign I gave Neary for it. — 1922 •To comb; to make orderly.My two roommates are engineers who preen the diesels. — 2002 •To trim up, as trees.Adjusting his spectacles on the bridge of his nose, he gently preened the bush with his pruners. — 2007 •To improve the appearance of; groom; prettify.He brushed and preened the marquis, front and back. “Lucky we are, Your Grace, no gashes that I see. But the beard is in a woeful state —” — 2011 •To show off, posture, or smarm.His preening self-satisfaction, chest thrown forward as he settles into a chair in his mansion... — 1993 •To flatter.New York nurtured and preened the most sophisticated audiences in the nation. — 1992 •To pin; fasten. noun3 •(dialect) A pin.She never seemed to want for siller; the house was as bright as a new preen, the yaird better delved than the manse garden; […] — 1902 •(dialect) A bodkin; brooch. •A forked tool used by clothiers for dressing cloth. formspreened · preening · preens
