shaping

SaySHAYP-ing/ˈʃeɪpɪŋ/

4 meanings of shaping

Practice

1
noununcountable
The act of giving something its form by molding, cutting, or bending it.
Like pressing soft dough into a round ball with your hands.
The shaping of the clay took several careful hours.
Wind plays a big part in the shaping of these sand dunes.
Similarforming, molding, sculpting, fashioning
Note
2
verb
Present participle of shape. Use this -ing form when an action is still happening now.
She is shaping the dough into small rolls.
They are shaping the wood with a small knife.
Note
3
noununcountable
A way of teaching a behavior step by step, giving rewards for each small move toward the goal.
Like learning to swim one small skill at a time, with praise for each try.
The trainer used shaping to teach the dog to roll over.
Through shaping, the child slowly learned to tie her shoes.
Note
4
noununcountable
The cutting of metal by a shaper, a machine that uses one moving blade to slice in straight lines.
Like slicing off thin layers with a cheese slicer, one pass at a time.
The old workshop still uses shaping to cut flat metal surfaces.
Shaping leaves clean, straight grooves in the steel block.

shaping is a form of shape

shape, verb: To have an effect on how something turns out. Full entry

Forms: shapeshapes he/she/itshaping -ing formshaped past tense, past participle
Spelling: shape → shaping: drop the e, add -ing

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Origins

Meanings 1, 3–4

From Middle English schapynge, made from "shape" plus "-ing".

Meaning 2

From Middle English shapinge, from Old English scyppende, going back to Proto-Germanic words meaning "to form, shape, create". It equals "shape" plus "-ing".