prune

verb

1. 1.

   transitivehorticulture

   To remove excess material from a tree or shrub; to trim, especially to make more healthy or productive.

2. 2.

   transitivefiguratively

   To cut down or shorten (by the removal of unnecessary material).

3. 3.

   transitive

   To remove (something unnecessary) for the sake of cutting down or shortening that which it was previously part of.

4. 4.

   intransitiveinformal

   To become wrinkled like a dried plum, as the fingers and toes do when kept submerged in water.

noun

1. 1.

   The dried, wrinkled fruit of certain species of plum.

2. 2.

   figurative

   Something wrinkly like a prune.

Inflected forms

Grammatical variations of the same word.

• pruningnounInflected form

  Something that has been pruned off of a plant.

Compound terms

Established multiword terms.

• pruning hooknounCompound term

  A long-handled pruning saw with a curved blade at the end and sometimes a clipper.

• pruning knifenounCompound term

  A knife with a curved or hooked blade.

• pruning sawnounCompound term

  A handsaw used for pruning trees.

• pruning shearsnounCompound term

  Shears with strong blades used for light pruning of woody plants.

• prune cakenounCompound term

  Moist cake containing prunes that have been made into a puree.

• prune whipnounCompound term

  Dessert made of prune puree and whipped cream.