# blacking

Pronunciation: US say "BLAK-ing" /ˈblækɪŋ/; UK

## Noun

1. A polish used on leather shoes to give them a black, shiny finish.
   - Simple: A polish put on leather shoes to make them black and shiny.
   - _The soldier applied a thin coat of blacking to his parade boots._
   - _A tin of blacking sat on the shelf beside the brushes._
2. A substance made with lampblack that is applied to give surfaces a glossy black finish.
   - Simple: A black paste made from soot, used to give metal a shiny dark coating.
   - _The foundry worker brushed blacking over the cast-iron grate._
   - _A coat of blacking restored the fireplace surround to a glossy black._
4. A boycott of goods or work, usually carried out as part of an industrial dispute.
   - Simple: A refusal by workers to handle certain goods or do certain work as part of a dispute.
   - _The dockers imposed a blacking on cargo bound for the strikebound plant._
   - _Management backed down only after the blacking spread to other depots._

## Verb

3. Present participle and gerund of black. — present participle and gerund of black
   - Simple: Present participle and gerund of black. Use this -ing form when the act of making something black is happening now.
   - _The recruits were blacking their boots when the sergeant arrived._
   - _Blacking the grate was a daily chore in the old house._

Source: DictionaryAI, https://dictionaryai.com/define/blacking (written from Wiktionary data, CC BY-SA 4.0: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/).