as in cutting
to make (something) shorter or smaller with the use of a cutting instrument
pared the stray branches on the tree
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Recent Examples of paring
The Washington Post, San Diego Union-Tribune, 25 June 2025
Others are still discouraged from the paring back of incentives for domestic productions and have been inactive.
—Anna Marie De La Fuente, Variety, 9 June 2025
Ty Roush, Forbes.com, 14 Aug. 2025
But Minor had taken ill in recent years and had been paring back her responsibilities, including by selling one of her own plots to Blair.
—Andrea Riquier, USA Today, 10 Aug. 2025
See All Example Sentences for paring
Verb
To hull a strawberry: Grab a sharp paring knife with your dominant hand, gripping the blade with your index finger and thumb, and leave about 1 inch poking out.
—The Washington Post, San Diego Union-Tribune, 25 June 2025
Others are still discouraged from the paring back of incentives for domestic productions and have been inactive.
—Anna Marie De La Fuente, Variety, 9 June 2025
Noun
Ether, the second-largest cryptocurrency by market capitalization, earlier Thursday neared its all-time high set in November 2021 before paring back gains.
—Ty Roush, Forbes.com, 14 Aug. 2025
But Minor had taken ill in recent years and had been paring back her responsibilities, including by selling one of her own plots to Blair.
—Andrea Riquier, USA Today, 10 Aug. 2025
See All Example Sentences for paring
Recent Examples of Synonyms for paring
Verb
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Early on the morning of March 16th, Nayib Bukele, the President of El Salvador, posted video footage of Salvadoran agents marching the Venezuelan men into prison and shaving their heads.—
Jonathan Blitzer,
New Yorker,
8 Sep. 2025
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One analyst suggested that shaving a percentage point off the state’s income tax could cut available revenues by roughly $5 billion.—
State House News Service,
Boston Herald,
4 Sep. 2025
Noun
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The Ewpjdk 4-Pack Garden Pruning Shears come with four pruning shears for the price of one and are versatile enough to take on all kinds of fall pruning tasks, like harvesting, clipping, deadheading, and cutting off the final fruits of the season, before winter comes.—
Stephanie Osmanski,
Better Homes & Gardens,
7 Sep. 2025
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Black and white family pictures, Arlington Heights High School shirts, newspaper clippings and awards also line the restaurant’s walls.—
Kamal Morgan,
Fort Worth Star-Telegram,
26 Aug. 2025
Verb
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Barcelona’s decision was not a sporting one but based on cutting wages.—
Charlotte Harpur,
New York Times,
6 Sep. 2025
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There’s people cutting sandwiches, putting the sandwiches right to the camera, squeezing the juices.—
Kate Erbland,
IndieWire,
6 Sep. 2025
Noun
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The brittle, eco-friendly bamboo straw is another concession to the community, as are the splinters.—
Joe Joyce,
The Washington Examiner,
5 Sep. 2025
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The syntax of reason splinters by the hour.—
Alaa Alqaisi
August 13,
Literary Hub,
13 Aug. 2025
Verb
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The junior launched himself through a pile for a two-yard touchdown rush, trimming the deficit to 35-34.—
Brendan Connelly,
Boston Herald,
7 Sep. 2025
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With revisions earlier this year mostly trimming prior readings, more downward revisions could be due.—
Jason Ma,
Fortune,
7 Sep. 2025
Noun
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The token slivers of human-interest drama (a divorce battle, a visit to the pediatrician) that are meant to counterpoint the possibility of Armageddon with the oh-so-ironic triviality of quotidian concerns.—
Owen Gleiberman,
Variety,
2 Sep. 2025
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Obviously, the overall deliveries are instrumental in establishing the average unit cost for each 30-second sliver of airtime, but when a half-minute is commanding $8 million a pop, there’s only so much extra dough that can be squeezed out of the Big Game’s sponsors.—
Anthony Crupi,
Sportico.com,
2 Sep. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Paring.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/paring. Accessed 13 Sep. 2025.
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