as in to shave
to make (something) shorter or smaller with the use of a cutting instrument
pruned the dead branches from the old apple tree
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Recent Examples of prune
Find all the details for pruning your specific type of spirea here.
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Megan Hughes, Better Homes & Gardens, 5 Oct. 2024
Martha, again in the mid-1990s, ably demonstrating the only proper way to prune an unruly tree.
—Stephanie Zacharek, TIME, 29 Oct. 2024
About one month before your first frost date, prune away any tomato flowers that are left on your plants and remove the smallest tomatoes that won't have enough time to ripen.
—Lauren Landers, Better Homes & Gardens, 28 Oct. 2024
Winter pruning is a deceptively simple concept: while an apple tree is dormant, a gardener prunes her trees by cutting off, or heading, some of a branch’s recent growth.
—Manjula Martin, The New Yorker, 28 Oct. 2024
See all Example Sentences for prune 
Megan Hughes, Better Homes & Gardens, 5 Oct. 2024
Martha, again in the mid-1990s, ably demonstrating the only proper way to prune an unruly tree.
—Stephanie Zacharek, TIME, 29 Oct. 2024
About one month before your first frost date, prune away any tomato flowers that are left on your plants and remove the smallest tomatoes that won't have enough time to ripen.
—Lauren Landers, Better Homes & Gardens, 28 Oct. 2024
Winter pruning is a deceptively simple concept: while an apple tree is dormant, a gardener prunes her trees by cutting off, or heading, some of a branch’s recent growth.
—Manjula Martin, The New Yorker, 28 Oct. 2024
See all Example Sentences for prune
Recent Examples of Synonyms for prune
Verb
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The precipitous decline shaved $2.4 billion off Trump’s net worth between Wednesday and Friday, cutting deeply into the $3.6 billion in gains Trump made during the previous month.David Goldman, CNN, 4 Nov. 2024
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After quadrupling in price just days before, the stock has lost 31% of its value during a two-day decline, shaving about $1.9 billion from former President Donald Trump's stake in the business.Aimee Picchi, CBS News, 31 Oct. 2024
Verb
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With the extra attacker out, Fabian Zetterlund scored a power-play goal with 26 seconds left in regulation time to cut the Rangers lead to 3-2, but the Sharks could not find the equalizer.Curtis Pashelka, The Mercury News, 14 Nov. 2024
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This isn’t the only gentleman-on-gentleman peck cut from the film.Bethy Squires, Vulture, 13 Nov. 2024
Verb
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The new legislative maps trimmed that lean down to 53%, raising questions from Republicans and enthusiasm from Democrats over whether the seat would flip parties under the new maps.Claudia Levens, Journal Sentinel, 6 Nov. 2024
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Restaurant Brands on Tuesday trimmed its outlook for full-year system-wide sales growth to a range of 5% to 5.5%, down from its prior range of 5.5% to 6%.Amelia Lucas, CNBC, 5 Nov. 2024
Verb
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Continue mowing your grass Our lawns have had a challenging growing season.Chris McKeown, The Enquirer, 2 Nov. 2024
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Focus on mowing at the proper height, aerating as needed, and adding fertilizer to provide essential nutrients.Megan Hughes, Better Homes & Gardens, 30 Sep. 2024
Thesaurus Entries Near prune
Cite this Entry
“Prune.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/prune. Accessed 21 Nov. 2024.
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