-ing
1a suffix of nouns formed from verbs, expressing the action of the verb or its result, product, material, etc. (the art of building; a new building; cotton wadding). It is also used to form nouns from words other than verbs (offing; shirting). Verbal nouns ending in -ing are often used attributively (the printing trade) and in forming compounds (drinking song). In some compounds (sewing machine), the first element might reasonably be regarded as the participial adjective, -ing2, the compound thus meaning “a machine that sews,” but it is commonly taken as a verbal noun, the compound being explained as “a machine for sewing.”
Origin of -ing
1- Compare -ing2.
Words Nearby -ing
Other definitions for -ing (2 of 3)
a suffix forming the present participle of verbs (walking; thinking), such participles being often used as participial adjectives: warring factions.
Origin of -ing
2pronunciation note For -ing
Many speakers use both pronunciations, depending on the speed of utterance and the relative formality of the occasion, with [‐ing] /‐ɪŋ/ considered the more formal variant. For some educated speakers, especially in the southern United States and Britain, [‐in] /‐ɪn/ is in fact the more common pronunciation, while for other educated speakers, [‐ing] /‐ɪŋ/ is common in virtually all circumstances. In response to correction from perceived authorities, many American speakers who would ordinarily use [‐in] /‐ɪn/ at least some of the time make a conscious effort to say [‐ing], /‐ɪŋ/, even in informal circumstances.
- Compare -ing1.
Other definitions for -ing (3 of 3)
a native English suffix meaning “one belonging to,” “of the kind of,” “one descended from,” and sometimes having a diminutive force, formerly used in the formation of nouns: farthing; shilling; bunting; gelding; whiting.
Origin of -ing
3- Compare -ling1.
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2024
How to use -ing in a sentence
Anyway, Hurley magically built a career from it, and is still smiling and siren-ing.
Happy 20th Birthday, Liz Hurley’s Safety-Pin Dress | Tim Teeman | December 12, 2014 | THE DAILY BEAST(Or as Gehry framed it in the Sketches documentary: “mak[ing] beauty with junk”).
It is about “demonstrat[ing] to the public—in real time—that Congress is on the job.”
Colleges Lawyer Up Before Claire McCaskill Rape Inquiry | Emily Shire | June 6, 2014 | THE DAILY BEASTOn "Only in Dreams," he worried about "crush[ing]" his dream girl's "pretty toenails into a thousand pieces" while they danced.
Remembering Weezer’s ‘The Blue Album,’ A Garage Rock Classic, on Its 20th Anniversary | Andrew Romano | May 10, 2014 | THE DAILY BEASTIn addition to the medical-insurance criteria, 15 points are awarded for “positively engag[ing] the External LGBT Community.”
A gentleman of the bar remarked that he could see no impropriety in a man and his wife a-door-ing each other.
The Book of Anecdotes and Budget of Fun; | VariousI sees you pitchin' eberyt'ing away; I jes put this jug in hyar, 'ca'se I 'lowed you'd want some.
Madame Bill near fell off her chair with surprise, and began ha-ha-ing melodious.
The Belted Seas | Arthur ColtonMoung Ing then went in search of Mr. Judson; and it was nearly dark when he found him in the interior of an obscure prison.
Fox's Book of Martyrs | John FoxeNagsalip-ing kug kwarta sa libru, I placed some money in between the pages of the book.
A Dictionary of Cebuano Visayan | John U. Wolff
British Dictionary definitions for -ing (1 of 3)
(from verbs) the action of, process of, result of, or something connected with the verb: coming; meeting; a wedding; winnings
(from other nouns) something used in, consisting of, involving, etc: tubing; soldiering
(from other parts of speech): an outing
Origin of -ing
1British Dictionary definitions for -ing (2 of 3)
forming the present participle of verbs: walking; believing
forming participial adjectives: a growing boy; a sinking ship
forming adjectives not derived from verbs: swashbuckling
Origin of -ing
2British Dictionary definitions for -ing (3 of 3)
a person or thing having a certain quality or being of a certain kind: sweeting; whiting
Origin of -ing
3Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012
Browse