manicuring

IPA/ˈmæn.ɪ.kjʊər/
IPA/ˈmæn.ə.kjʊr/

manicuring — verb

  • manicuringpresent simple I / you / we / they
  • manicurings3rd person singular
  • manicuringing-ing form
  • manicuringedpast simple

1. shaping, cleaning, and softening the skin and nails of someone's hands so that t

1.verbtransitiveB2
Definition

shaping, cleaning, and softening the skin and nails of someone's hands so that they look neat and well cared for.

Example

Nkechi spent the afternoon manicuring her bride's nails before the wedding photos.

manicure + someone's nails for the nail-care reading

The salon charges thirty dollars for manicuring and painting each customer's nails.

manicure + and + paint, the typical salon pairing

Common collocations
  • manicure the nails
  • manicure someone's hands
  • carefully manicured
Synonyms
  • groom

    broader — covers cleaning and tidying any part of the body, not only nails

  • buff

    narrower — only the polishing-and-shining step of a manicure

Grammar Patterns

manicure + someone

manicure + someone's nails

Usage Note

Object is usually the hands, the nails, or the person whose nails are being cared for. Distinguish from sense 2 (verb/2), where the object is a plant or garden, not a body part.

Common Mistakes

She is manicuring her hair before the party.
She is doing her hair before the party.
manicure is only about hands and nails, never hair.

2. cutting a plant, lawn, or garden so closely and evenly that every part looks tid

2.verbtransitiveC1
Definition

cutting a plant, lawn, or garden so closely and evenly that every part looks tidy and carefully shaped.

Example

The gardeners spent all spring manicuring the hotel lawns into smooth green squares.

manicure + lawn for the close-trimming reading

Eli enjoys manicuring his small hedge until each side is perfectly flat.

Common collocations
  • manicured lawn
  • manicured garden
  • neatly manicured
Synonyms
  • trim

    more general — any small cut to neaten, without the even, all-over result

  • prune

    narrower — cutting away dead or unwanted growth for plant health, not only for neatness

Antonyms
  • overgrow

    to grow wild and untidy, the opposite result

Grammar Patterns

manicure + a plant/garden/lawn

Usage Note

Object is a plant, lawn, hedge, or garden, never a body part. Often passive or in the form 'a manicured lawn / garden' to describe the tidy result.

Common Mistakes

He spent hours manicuring his messy desk.
He spent hours tidying his messy desk.
this sense is only for plants, grass, and gardens, not objects or rooms.

manicuring — noun

Word family

Synonym discussion

Sense: verb/1

All four words involve neatening, but they differ in scope. 'Manicure' is the most specific: it means caring for the hands and nails by cleaning, shaping, and softening them, and it carries a sense of careful, professional finish. 'Groom' is the broadest — you can groom a dog, a horse, or yourself, covering any tidying of the body or coat. 'Buff' names just one step: polishing a surface, including a nail, until it shines, so it is part of manicuring rather than the whole thing. 'Trim' simply means cutting something a little to make it neat, with no idea of beauty care. So you manicure your nails carefully, buff them to a shine, trim a stray cuticle, and groom the rest of your body.

manicure ↗groom ↗buff ↗trim ↗

Common collocations

Nouns

Adverbs

Phrases

  • beautifully manicured
  • well manicured

Etymology

LatinFrenchEnglish

Manicure comes from two Latin parts: 'manus', meaning hand, and 'cura', meaning care. French speakers joined these ideas into 'manucure' in the 1800s to name the new fashion of professional nail care, and English borrowed the word soon after. The '-ing' form 'manicuring' is the gerund and present participle of the verb, used both for the act of caring for nails and, by extension, for trimming plants very neatly.