resting

1. 1
   verb

   Present participle and gerund of rest.

   She is resting quietly in the next room.

   Resting between sets lets your muscles recover.

   Note

   The form works both as a participle and as a verbal noun. With be it builds the progressive (she is resting), and on its own it can head a subject (resting between sets helps). It also carries the verb's transitive and figurative uses, as in resting the horses, resting her eyes, or a claim resting on one witness. An object, or the preposition on, tells you which rest is meant.

2. 2
   adjective

   Not in action or in the process of growth; in a state of inactivity.

   A resting muscle burns far less energy than one under strain.

   Gardeners avoid disturbing the resting bulbs until the dormant season ends.

   Similardormant, inactive, quiescent, idle, relaxed

   Oppositeactive, working

3. 3
   adjective

   Remaining in place; stationary and not in motion.

   The resting weight pressed steadily on the wooden beam.

   A resting body keeps its position unless a force acts on it.

   Similarstationary, static, motionless, immobile, still

   Oppositemoving, mobile

   Note

   Measurement gives this sense a fixed phrase: resting heart rate, the pulse counted while the body is still. For most adults a normal one runs from 60 to 100 beats per minute. In compounds like this, resting marks a baseline taken at rest, set against readings taken during effort.

4. 4
   noununcountable

   A pause, break, or interlude in the course of an activity.

   After a short resting, the dancers returned to the floor.

   The long march allowed little resting before nightfall.

   Similarbreak, pause, breather, interruption, recess

5. 5
   noununcountable

   The act or activity of taking rest.

   Days of resting allowed the injured athlete to return to form.

   Adequate resting is as important to recovery as good nutrition.

   Similarrepose, inactivity

   Oppositeactivity, exertion

   Note

   This noun can be counted as well as left uncounted. Merritt Munson's The History of Moses and the Israelites (1865) speaks of "the motions, and the restings" of the cloud that led the Israelites, treating each halt as a separate event. Its synonyms run two ways: repose and inactivity for stopping, and reliance and confidence for resting on something, the sense of depending.

6. 6
   adjectiveeuphemistic

   Not currently employed; out of work, especially between professional engagements.

   She described herself as resting rather than admit she had no acting work.

   Half the cast were resting by the time the tour ended.

   Similarunemployed, jobless, idle

   Oppositeworking, employed

   Note

   A performer's polite word for being out of work. To say an actor is resting presents the gap between engagements as a chosen pause rather than a lack of offers. It usually follows the verb, as in she is resting or half the cast were resting, and it carries a knowing, euphemistic tone. In plain contexts, unemployed or between jobs is the safer choice.

Showing meanings only. Show all 8