SPRAYING

Pronunciation (US):

(GB):

IPA (US):

 Dictionary entry overview: What does spraying mean? 

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

1. the dispersion of fungicides or insecticides or fertilizer on growing crops (often from a low-flying aircraft)

2. a quantity of small objects flying through the air

3. the application of a liquid in the form of small particles ejected from a sprayer

  Familiarity information: SPRAYING used as a noun is uncommon.

 Dictionary entry details 

• SPRAYING (noun)

Sense 1

Meaning:

The dispersion of fungicides or insecticides or fertilizer on growing crops (often from a low-flying aircraft)

Classified under:

Nouns denoting acts or actions

Synonyms:

crop-dusting; spraying

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

diffusion; dispersal; dispersion; dissemination (the act of dispersing or diffusing something)

Domain category:

aircraft (a vehicle that can fly)

Sense 2

Meaning:

A quantity of small objects flying through the air

Classified under:

Nouns denoting quantities and units of measure

Synonyms:

spray; spraying

Context example:

a spray of bullets

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

small indefinite amount; small indefinite quantity (an indefinite quantity that is below average size or magnitude)

Derivation:

spray (scatter in a mass or jet of droplets)

Sense 3

Meaning:

The application of a liquid in the form of small particles ejected from a sprayer

Classified under:

Nouns denoting acts or actions

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

application; coating; covering (the work of applying something)

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

spray painting (applying paint with a sprayer)

Derivation:

spray (cover by spraying with a liquid)

 Context examples 

Using a technique called electrospinning, scientists created “bottled bandages” which spray a thin layer of fibres onto damaged skin like spraying paint on a wall.

(Scientists Develop Spray Gun to Paint Bandages onto Wounds, The Titi Tudorancea Bulletin)

Upon spraying directly onto the gastric mucosa, L-menthol preparation NPO-11 may relax gastrointestinal smooth muscle.

(L-menthol Preparation NPO-11, NCI Thesaurus)

A spectrometer in which a sample is introduced, either by spraying or ultrasonic nebulization, into inductively-coupled plasma generated from argon gas.

(Inductively-Coupled Plasma Optical Emission Spectrometer, NCI Thesaurus)

Açaí juice contamination can be avoided by appropriate handling of the fruit, including dipping the fruit in boiling water for ten seconds and then spraying them with cold water.

(Açaí fruit can transmit Chagas disease, SciDev.Net)

The invention, called a liquid-entrenched smooth surface (LESS) coating, involves two separate treatments, both presented as suitable for spraying onto ceramics amongst other materials.

(Materials scientists invent new coating for self-cleaning, water-efficient toilets, Wikinews)

For every additional 1,000 ladybirds per hectare of cotton, farmers used 0.69 kilograms less insecticide while also saving time from reduced insecticide spraying.

(Study estimates true value of ladybird as biocontrol, SciDev.Net)

Upon spraying the solution onto affected areas, the cytokines and growth factors in ACCS appear to increase the migration, proliferation and differentiation of both keratinocytes and fibroblasts; enhance the migration and phagocytosis of macrophages in wounds; and increase epithelialization.

(Amnion-derived Cellular Cytokine Solution, NCI Thesaurus)

The surfaces of the moons Atlas, Prometheus and Pandora, farther out from Saturn, have ring material as well - but they're also coated with the bright icy particles and water vapor from the plume spraying out of Enceladus. (A broad outer ring of Saturn, known as the E ring, is formed by the icy material that fans out from Enceladus' plume.)

(NASA's Cassini Finds Saturn's Rings Coat Tiny Moons, NASA)