firming

1. 1
   verb

   Present participle and gerund of firm.

   Cooler air is firming the chocolate as it sets in the mold.

   Traders noticed oil prices firming through the afternoon session.

   Note

   The participle does double duty because firm works with or without an object. Used transitively, one thing firms another, as cool air firming chocolate. Used intransitively, the subject firms by itself, and that is the use for markets: prices firming are recovering after a decline. In Australian betting, odds that are firming are shortening.

2. 2
   adjective

   Of a cosmetic product, intended to make the skin tighter and firmer.

   Like a corset for the skin, promising to tighten what has loosened.

   The brand's new firming serum promises visible results within four weeks.

   Dermatologists remain skeptical about how well most firming creams actually work.

   Note

   A participial adjective that belongs to the cosmetics counter: firming gel, firming cream, firming serum. It names what a product is meant to do, not a quality it has in degrees, so it is not comparable. A cream is firming or it is not, and "more firming" is not idiomatic. It typically sits directly before the noun it describes.

Showing meanings only. Show all 2