bronzing

1. 1
   verb

   Present participle and gerund of bronze.

   The workshop specializes in bronzing baby shoes for proud parents.

   After bronzing in the 400 meters last year, she is aiming for gold.

   Note

   Bronze drops its silent e before -ing, as most verbs ending in e do. After be the form shows an action under way (the sun is bronzing her shoulders); elsewhere it names the activity. It reaches from plating and tanning to the sporting use, where bronzing means finishing third and taking the bronze medal. The same spelling is also a noun for the plating process.

2. 2
   noununcountable

   The process of giving an object or surface the look of bronze.

   A careful bronzing gave the plaster bust the look of a cast metal sculpture.

   The bronzing of the plastic lamp base took only a coat of paint and a little gold wax.

3. 3
   noununcountable

   The process of coating objects with a layer of bronze.

   The foundry sends the steel fittings out for bronzing before assembly.

   Uneven bronzing left dull patches on the plated railings.

   Note

   In the metal shop the coat is the real thing: bronze, an alloy of copper usually with tin, laid over an object made of something else. That separates it from giving something a bronze look, where a powder or finish imitates only the color and sheen.

4. 4
   noununcountable

   Damage that rust mites cause to citrus fruit late in the growing season.

   Growers scouting the grove in October found bronzing on the grapefruit.

   The packing house sent the lots with severe bronzing to the juice plant.

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