Word.ws English Dictionary

establishing

Syllables: es·tab·lish·ing/ɪˈstæblɪʃɪŋ/

establishing is the present participle and gerund of establish.

Meaning of establish

Verb

establish (third-person singular simple present establishes, present participle establishing, simple past and past participle established)

  1. (transitive) To make stable or firm; to confirm.
    • Once it [a snowdrop variety] became established, some bulbs were lifted and passed on to be chipped (i.e. cut into small pieces and grown on).2015 February 7, Val Bourne, “The quiet man of the world of snowdrops”, in The Daily Telegraph (London), page G8
  2. (transitive) To form; to found; to institute; to set up in business.
    • But with thee will I establish my covenant; and thou shalt come into the ark, thou, and thy sons, and thy wife, and thy sons' wives with thee.1611, The Holy Bible, […] (King James Version), London: […] Robert Barker, […], →OCLC, Genesis 6:18
  3. (transitive) To appoint or adopt, as officers, laws, regulations, guidelines, etc.; to enact; to ordain.
    • By some paradoxical evolution rancour and intolerance have been established in the vanguard of primitive Christianity. Mrs. Spoker, in common with many of the stricter disciples of righteousness, was as inclement in demeanour as she was cadaverous in aspect.1921, Ben Travers, chapter 4, in A Cuckoo in the Nest, Garden City, N.Y.: Doubleday, Page & Company, published 1925, →OCLC
  4. (transitive) To prove and cause to be accepted as true; to demonstrate.
    • to establish a fact

Noun

establishing (plural establishings)

  1. The act by which something is established; establishment.
    • This course consists of the overturnings and establishings of the various successive empires under which the Church of Christ, both in its Jewish and Christian state, should exist […]1845, Matthew Habershon, The Shadows of the Evening, page 6

Forms of establishing

pluralestablishings

Words formed from establishing

Phrases with establishing

Questions about establishing

What does establishing mean?
Establishing means the act by which something is established; establishment.
What is establishing the present participle and gerund of?
Establishing is the present participle and gerund of establish.
What part of speech is establishing?
Establishing is a noun.
How do you pronounce establishing?
Establishing is pronounced /ɪˈstæblɪʃɪŋ/.
What is the plural of establishing?
The plural of establishing is establishings.

Words near establishing in the dictionary

  1. establisher
  2. establishers
  3. establishes
  4. establishest
  5. establisheth
  6. establishing
  7. establishing shot
  8. establishing shots
  9. establishings
  10. establishment
  11. establishment clause

Source and license

Adapted from Wiktionary: establishing (page history and authors); establish (page history and authors). Text available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 license. Word.ws reformatted the entry and added links. Wiktionary data of 2026-09-02.

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