Word.ws English Dictionary

How to use preen in a sentence

19 example sentences · noun, verb

Preen means a forked tool used by clothiers for dressing cloth. Example: “Mr Kernan halted and preened himself before the sloping mirror of Peter Kennedy, hairdresser.”

Examples of preen by meaning

verbTo 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.1922, James Joyce, Ulysses

verbTo show off, posture, or smarm.

  • Farian called them Milli Vanilli and recorded an album of lightweight, preening dance-pop under their name, using uncredited studio musicians.1998 April 7, Neil Strauss, “Robert Pilatus, 32, Performer In Disgraced Band Milli Vanilli”, in The New York Times, →ISSN
  • He preened under her compliments.2004, Jude Deveraux, Counterfeit Lady
  • The crowning tragedy—or sick joke—is that those who have postured and preened the most ostentatiously about their devotion to the Constitution have been the most indifferent to its destruction.2012, Mike Lofgren, The Party Is Over

verbTo flatter.

  • New York nurtured and preened the most sophisticated audiences in the nation.1992, Philip H. Ennis, The Seventh Stream: The Emergence of Rocknroll in American Popular Music, page 39

verbTo comb; to make orderly.

  • My two roommates are engineers who preen the diesels.2002, David G. Campbell, The Crystal Desert: Summers in Antarctica
  • Preen the deer hair rearward around the hook shank, and take 3 tight thread wraps to secure it.2011, Jim Schollmeyer, Ted Leeson, Flies for Western Super Hatches, page 82
  • Now Prossiden's finger was brandished, and preened the air in front of Onascam's face with florid implications.2019, J.E. Franklin, Crouching at the Door

verbTo trim up, as trees.

  • Adjusting his spectacles on the bridge of his nose, he gently preened the bush with his pruners.2007, J. P. De Sales, The Coming of the Reichchild, page 162
  • He'd imagined he could see the whole world from there, whilst the people below tended to their window boxes and preened the rose bushes, making this idyllic village pretty for the tourists.2013, Hannah Graham, Beneath the Perfect World
  • I ignored him and looked around, wondering who preened the conical fir trees on each ledge of the building.2018, J.S. Monroe, The Riot Act

verbTo improve the appearance of; groom; prettify.

  • He brushed and preened the marquis, front and back.2011, Brennan Pursell, The Spanish Match, page 26
  • Instead it recommends how to preen the city for the uncritical gaze of a kind of tourist who willingly accepts low-grade commercialized leisure.2011, Dean MacCannell, The Ethics of Sightseeing, page 200
  • He'd built a lodge and preened the country, and imported or otherwise attracted the game, and then found that no one came.2015, Walter Jon Williams, The Rift

More sentences with preen

  • Alain leans over me, like he’s going to give me a Spider-Man kiss, but he just preens.2017, Erica Kudisch, Don’t Feed the Trolls, Riptide Publishing, →ISBN, page 73. From the entry Spider-Man kiss
  • Once settled, they preen, crawl or sting, as is their wont.2014, Terence Park, “The Old House”, in Ice Made and Other Stories, page 87. From the entry God's work
  • Yesterday, Alfred caught me preening in the mirror, trying to master a hustler’s roguish come-on.1999, Kelly McQuain, “Je T’aime, Batman, Je T’adore”, in Julie K. Trevelyan, Scott Brassart, editors, Wilma Loves Betty and Other…. From the entry chubber
  • One preened, another fed, most were just static, daydreaming.2017, Rosamond Richardson, Waiting for the Albino Dunnock: How birds can change your life. From the entry ploverness
  • Large dog owners see me as an ally in the battle against the “toys” — eentsy, primped and preened, frivolous creatures that tremble and yap.2007 May 5, Mark Derr, “The Little Dog Has His Day”, in New York Times. From the entry eentsy

Meaning of preen

  1. noun A forked tool used by clothiers for dressing cloth.
  2. noun A pin.
  3. noun A bodkin; brooch.

Full definition of preen

Questions about preen in a sentence

How do you use preen in a sentence?
Preen is used as a noun and verb. For example: “Mr Kernan halted and preened himself before the sloping mirror of Peter Kennedy, hairdresser.”
What is a short sentence with preen?
“He preened under her compliments.”
What does preen mean?
Preen means a forked tool used by clothiers for dressing cloth.

Source and license

Adapted from Wiktionary: preen (page history and authors) and the entries each sentence comes from. Text available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 license. Word.ws chose the sentences, left out offensive ones and quotations older than 1900, and marked the word in each. Wiktionary data of 2026-09-02.

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Cite this page: “How to use preen in a sentence.” Word.ws, https://word.ws/sentences/preen. Based on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.