1. (of a bird) tidy and clean its feathers with its beak: "reed buntings preened at the pool's edge"Similarcleantidygroomsmootharrangearchaic:plumeprink
▪ (of a person) devote effort to making oneself look attractive and then admire one's appearance: "adolescents preening in their bedroom mirrors"Similaradmire oneselfprimp oneselfprimpprink oneselfpretty oneselfprettify oneselfsmarten oneselfbeautify oneselfmake oneself pretty/smart/beautifulgroom oneselftidy oneselfspruce oneself upinformal:titivate oneselfdoll oneself uptart oneself upgussy oneself uparchaic:plume oneselftrig oneself
▪ congratulate or pride oneself:"it did not prevent them from preening themselves on their achievement"
Word Originlate Middle English: apparently a variant of obsolete prune (based on Latin ungere ‘anoint’), in the same sense, associated with Scots and northern English dialect preen ‘pierce, pin’ (because of the ‘pricking’ action of the bird's beak).
