-ing - Dictionary Of English

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-ing [links] ⓘ One or more forum threads is an exact match of your searched term in Spanish | in French | in Italian | English synonyms | English Usage | Conjugator | in context | images WordReference Random House Learner's Dictionary of American English © 2026-ing1 ,suffix.
  1. -ing is attached to verbs to form nouns that express the action of the verb or its result, product, material, etc.:build + -ing → building: the art of building;a new building.
  2. -ing is also attached to roots (other than verb roots) to form nouns:off + -ing → offing
. -ing2 ,suffix.
  1. -ing is attached to verbs to form the present participle of verbs:walk + -ing → walking: Is the baby walking yet?These participles are often used as adjectives:war + -ing → warring: warring factions.
WordReference Random House Unabridged Dictionary of American English © 2026-ing1 ,
  1. a suffix of nouns formed from verbs, expressing the action of the verb or its result, product, material, etc. (the art of building; a new building; cotton wadding). It is also used to form nouns from words other than verbs (offing; shirting). Verbal nouns ending in -ing are often used attributively (the printing trade) and in forming compounds (drinking song). In some compounds (sewing machine), the first element might reasonably by regarded as the participial adjective, -ing2, the compound thus meaning "a machine that sews,'' but it is commonly taken as a verbal noun, the compound being explained as "a machine for sewing.'' Cf. -ing2.
  • Old English -ing, -ung Middle English
-ing2 ,
  1. a suffix forming the present participle of verbs (walking; thinking), such participles being often used as participial adjectives: warring factions. Cf. -ing1.
  • the variant -in (usu. represented in spelling, spelled as -in’ ) continues Middle English -inde, -ende, Old English -ende Middle English -ing, -inge
    The common suffix -ing2 can be pronounced in modern English as either (-ing)USA pronunciation or (-in),USA pronunciation with either the velar nasal consonant (ng),USA pronunciation symbolized in IPA as [ŋ], or the alveolar nasal consonant (n),USA pronunciation symbolized in IPA as [n]. The (-in)USA pronunciation pronunciation therefore reflects the use of one nasal as against another and not, as is popularly supposed, "dropping the g,'' since no actual g-sound is involved. Many speakers use both pronunciations, depending on the speed of utterance and the relative formality of the occasion, with (-ing)USA pronunciation considered the more formal variant. For some educated speakers, especially in the southern United States and Britain, (-in)USA pronunciation is in fact the more common pronunciation, while for other educated speakers, (-ing)USA pronunciation is common in virtually all circumstances. In response to correction from perceived authorities, many American speakers who would ordinarily use (-in)USA pronunciation at least some of the time make a conscious effort to say (-ing),USA pronunciation even in informal circumstances.
 -ing3 ,
  1. a native English suffix meaning "one belonging to,'' "of the kind of,'' "one descended from,'' and sometimes having a diminutive force, formerly used in the formation of nouns: farthing; shilling; bunting; gelding; whiting. Cf. -ling1.
  • Middle English, Old English -ing, cognate with Old Norse -ingr, -ungr, Gothic -ings
Collins Concise English Dictionary © HarperCollins Publishers:: -ing suffix forming nouns
  1. (from verbs) the action of, process of, result of, or something connected with the verb: coming, meeting, a wedding, winnings
  2. (from other nouns) something used in, consisting of, involving, etc: tubing, soldiering
  3. (from other parts of speech): an outing
Etymology: Old English -ing, -ung-ing suffix
  1. forming the present participle of verbs: walking, believing
  2. forming participial adjectives: a growing boy, a sinking ship
  3. forming adjectives not derived from verbs: swashbuckling
Etymology: Middle English -ing, -inde, from Old English -ende-ing suffix forming nouns
  1. a person or thing having a certain quality or being of a certain kind: sweeting, whiting
Etymology: Old English -ing; related to Old Norse -ingr '-ing' also found in these entries (note: many are not synonyms or translations): Baoding - blithering - cc - Chiang Ch'ing - chin-chin - Chinghai - Chingtao - Ch'ing-yüan - Chongqing - Chungking - DJ - Dongting - fairing - farthing - flamingo - gelding - gerund - IB - Jiang Qing - KO - movie - OD - O.K. - Pei - present participle - Soong - staging - steading - stocking - tarpaulin - Tsingyuan - Tungting - Viking - whiting - wolverine - A, a - abegging - Aberdeen Proving Ground - abiding - ability grouping - aborning - absolute ceiling - absorbing - absorbing well - abstracting journal - abstracting service - abuilding - accepted pairing - accepting - accommodating In Lists: English suffixes, more...

Forum discussions with the word(s) "-ing" in the title:

< It's + adjective + Infinitive > and < Verb+ing is adjective > differences --taking good care of our parents--(em-dash, v-ing/v) -ed or -ing -ed/-ing/-ry -ing -ing -ing and -ed clause and relative clauses -ing clause - function -Ing clauses to talk about a reason -ing ending -ing endings before vowel sounds -ing for listings -ing form -ing form -ing form / in parallel to -ing form after a sentence -ing form in place of an explicit dependent clause -ing form instead of past participle -ing form or present continuous? -ing form vs. to-infinitive -ing forms -ing or -ed -ing or -ed? -Ing or infinitive after "help"? -ing or infinitive? -ing or infinitive? -ing or not? -ing or to- infinitive? "-ing" or "which" to connect a relative clause? -ing participle more...Visit the English Only Forum.Help WordReference: Ask in the forums yourself. Look up "-ing" at Merriam-Webster Look up "-ing" at dictionary.com
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