grooming

Verb

groom (third-person singular simple present grooms, present participle grooming, simple past and past participle groomed)

1. To attend to one's appearance and clothing.

   Synonyms:

   primp

2. (transitive) To care for (horses or other animals) by brushing and cleaning them.
   • 2010 (April 20) "The Collection" s1e6 of TV series Justified
     The wife didn't care about riding, but Owen did. Well, he cared about me. I went from doing everything — grooming, feeding, looking out — to being handed the reins of the most magnificent creatures ready to ride.
3. (obsolete, transitive) To care for (horses or other animals) by feeding, currying and tending to them.
4. (transitive) To prepare (someone) for an event
   • It appears that Broderick's seconds, although cool, brave men, were entirely without experience in arranging a duel, and did not know that a man should be groomed for one as carefully as a horse is groomed for a race.1912, The Contest for California in 1861: How Colonel E.D. Baker Saved the Pacific States to the Union, page 51
5. (transitive) To prepare (someone) for election or appointment.
   • It is of special interest to note the subjects considered as important to those who are being groomed for top administrative posts1953, The President's Report to the Board of Regents for the Academic Year page 146
6. (transitive) To gain, or attempt to gain, the trust of a child or vulnerable person in order to take advantage of or exploit them, especially sexually (if under the age of consent).
   • 2009, Suzanne Ost, Child Pornography and Sexual Grooming: Legal and Societal Responses

See all 15 meanings of groom