LACING

Pronunciation (US):

(GB):

 Dictionary entry overview: What does lacing mean? 

• LACING (noun)
  The noun LACING has 3 senses:

1. a small amount of liquor added to a food or beverage

2. a cord that is drawn through eyelets or around hooks in order to draw together two edges (as of a shoe or garment)

3. the act of inflicting corporal punishment with repeated blows

  Familiarity information: LACING used as a noun is uncommon.

 Dictionary entry details 

• LACING (noun)

Sense 1

Meaning:

A small amount of liquor added to a food or beverage

Classified under:

Nouns denoting foods and drinks

Hypernyms ("lacing" is a kind of...):

booze; hard drink; hard liquor; John Barleycorn; liquor; spirits; strong drink (an alcoholic beverage that is distilled rather than fermented)

Derivation:

lace (add alcohol to (beverages))

Sense 2

Meaning:

A cord that is drawn through eyelets or around hooks in order to draw together two edges (as of a shoe or garment)

Classified under:

Nouns denoting man-made objects

Synonyms:

lace; lacing

Hypernyms ("lacing" is a kind of...):

cord (a line made of twisted fibers or threads)

Hyponyms (each of the following is a kind of "lacing"):

bootlace (a long lace for fastening boots)

shoe lace; shoe string; shoelace; shoestring (a lace used for fastening shoes)

Holonyms ("lacing" is a part of...):

shoe (footwear shaped to fit the foot (below the ankle) with a flexible upper of leather or plastic and a sole and heel of heavier material)

Derivation:

lace (draw through eyes or holes)

Sense 3

Meaning:

The act of inflicting corporal punishment with repeated blows

Classified under:

Nouns denoting acts or actions

Synonyms:

beating; drubbing; lacing; licking; thrashing; trouncing; whacking

Hypernyms ("lacing" is a kind of...):

corporal punishment (the infliction of physical injury on someone convicted of committing a crime)

Hyponyms (each of the following is a kind of "lacing"):

flagellation; flogging; lashing; tanning; whipping (beating with a whip or strap or rope as a form of punishment)

flagellation (beating as a source of erotic or religious stimulation)

 Context examples 

This would not do; she immediately stopped, under pretence of having some alteration to make in the lacing of her half-boot, and stooping down in complete occupation of the footpath, begged them to have the goodness to walk on, and she would follow in half a minute.

(Emma, by Jane Austen)

Not even the effeminate swank of his riding clothes could hide the enormous power of that body—he seemed to fill those glistening boots until he strained the top lacing and you could see a great pack of muscle shifting when his shoulder moved under his thin coat.

(The Great Gatsby, by F. Scott Fitzgerald)