SHAVING

Pronunciation (US):

(GB):

IPA (US):

 Dictionary entry overview: What does shaving mean? 

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

1. the act of removing hair with a razor

2. a thin fragment or slice (especially of wood) that has been shaved from something

3. the act of brushing against while passing

  Familiarity information: SHAVING used as a noun is uncommon.

 Dictionary entry details 

• SHAVING (noun)

Sense 1

Meaning:

The act of removing hair with a razor

Classified under:

Nouns denoting acts or actions

Synonyms:

shave; shaving

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

depilation; epilation (the act of removing hair (as from an animal skin))

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

tonsure (shaving the crown of the head by priests or members of a monastic order)

Derivation:

shave (remove body hair with a razor)

Sense 2

Meaning:

A thin fragment or slice (especially of wood) that has been shaved from something

Classified under:

Nouns denoting natural objects (not man-made)

Synonyms:

paring; shaving; sliver

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

fragment (a piece broken off or cut off of something else)

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

splint (a thin sliver of wood)

turning (a shaving created when something is produced by turning it on a lathe)

Derivation:

shave (make shavings of or reduce to shavings)

Sense 3

Meaning:

The act of brushing against while passing

Classified under:

Nouns denoting acts or actions

Synonyms:

grazing; shaving; skimming

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

touch; touching (the act of putting two things together with no space between them)

Derivation:

shave (touch the surface of lightly)

 Context examples 

But the floor still shrieked the tragedy, until Hans planed the surface of the stained wood away and with the shavings made a fire in the stove.

(Love of Life and Other Stories, by Jack London)

There is not even a toilet glass on my table, and I had to get the little shaving glass from my bag before I could either shave or brush my hair.

(Dracula, by Bram Stoker)

I shook my head and paused in the act of dislodging the shavings which had drifted down my neck.

(The Sea-Wolf, by Jack London)

He said, shaking hands with me, “Copperfield, you are a true friend; but when the worst comes to the worst, no man is without a friend who is possessed of shaving materials.”

(David Copperfield, by Charles Dickens)

Parkinson's Disease Quality of Life Scale (PDQUALIF) In the past 7 days, in my personal hygiene (bathing, hair care, make up, shaving or toileting), I have been independent.

(PDQUALIF - Independent Hygiene in Past 7 Days, NCI Thesaurus)

I was shaving at my window in the morning when I heard the rattle of hoofs and, looking up, saw a dog-cart coming at a gallop down the road.

(His Last Bow, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle)

On the looking-glass were lists of definitions and pronunciations; when shaving, or dressing, or combing his hair, he conned these lists over.

(Martin Eden, by Jack London)

You shave every morning, and in this season you shave by the sunlight; but since your shaving is less and less complete as we get farther back on the left side, until it becomes positively slovenly as we get round the angle of the jaw, it is surely very clear that that side is less illuminated than the other.

(The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle)

So I got Sophy to lend me a hand, and we soon shifted their quarters; and now I am quite snug, with my little shaving glass in one corner, and another great thing that I never go near.

(Persuasion, by Jane Austen)

I think I was a good, prompt subaltern, and I am very sure that Hands was an excellent pilot, for we went about and about and dodged in, shaving the banks, with a certainty and a neatness that were a pleasure to behold.

(Treasure Island, by Robert Louis Stevenson)