preen

He doesn’t peacock, he doesn’t preen; he is visibly angry with himself when he doesn’t produce.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 8, 2026

These days, pastel and fluorescent birds groom, preen and bicker in enclosures behind the home.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Apr. 4, 2026

Maybe it’s happiest tucked into a cast-iron skillet, going golden and jammy while the showier types preen in their baskets.

From Salon ● Aug. 12, 2025

It might be a bank holiday in the UK, but for the designers, publicists and PAs, it'll be an extraordinarily busy day as they preen and prepare their stars to walk the grand staircase.

From BBC ● May 4, 2025

I prance from rack to rack, I preen.

From "Nickel and Dimed: On (Not) Getting By in America" by Barbara Ehrenreich

A few blocks away preens Bergdorf Goodman, the beautiful princess whose holding company, Neiman Marcus, muscled recently into the Hudson Yards, like a watchful mother-in-law moving into the guest cottage.

From New York Times ● Nov. 27, 2019

A background performer in a hat draped with ivy sways to disco music while another in gold chain flaps preens in his fringed jacket.

From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 2, 2019

Swain’s Damon rolls on the floor and preens like a cat.

From Washington Post ● Jun. 6, 2019

It swims and preens and eats, sure, but it will never migrate over the Korean Peninsula, or use its amazing plumage to flag down a mate as it would in the wild.

From Slate ● Feb. 11, 2019

“Methinks she preens her feathers just for me,” Guildenstern boasted.

From "Ophelia" by Lisa Klein

Jeudy pranced and preened in a squabble with Smith, the former Panthers star receiver and current NFL Network analyst, prior to the Broncos’ 19-8 loss at Kansas City last week.

From Seattle Times ● Oct. 20, 2023

So if you happen to raise an orphan like we did with Alfie, that desire to be preened is very relatable.

From Salon ● Oct. 1, 2023

With a singular presence and a deeply personal cadence, he preened and strode, quipped, opined, demanded and screamed into many, many telephones.

From Los Angeles Times ● May 5, 2022

Hagler’s Marvelous nickname was bestowed by a Lowell, Mass., journalist when he fought there as an amateur and preened in the ring, emulating Muhammad Ali.

From New York Times ● Mar. 13, 2021

“She’s very bright,” she told Adele, who preened at the news.

From "Three Little Words: A Memoir" by Ashley Rhodes-Courter

I understand that preening and politicking is way more fun and ego-enhancing than the minutiae of government in Sacramento.

From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 13, 2026

The author also has a keen eye—and little patience—for preening coaches.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 3, 2026

As in most of the director’s movies, the characters behave like preening betta fish.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 23, 2026

When they film themselves preening on their phones, with the images projected onto the giant mirrors, Claire and Solange use filters that turn their sallow, pinched faces into plump-lipped, high-cheekboned ones that suggest Kim Kardashian.

From The Wall Street Journal ● May 28, 2026

She was preening her now silver-gray, black, and white feathers.

From "My Side of the Mountain" by Jean Craighead George