styling

Pluralstylings

1. 1
   verb

   Present participle of style.

   The stylist is styling the model for the runway show.

   Styling the document with clear headings makes it easier to read.

   Note

   Whatever the verb style means, this form carries it, so the surrounding words decide the sense. Most often it means arranging or fashioning something, such as hair or a document. In formal writing it means naming or titling, usually reflexively: styling himself a duke. In informal US use it can stand alone, meaning showing off one's style. It shares its spelling with the noun for a look but stays a verb after be or before an object.

2. 2
   nouncountable or uncountable

   Any form of decoration, or a particular approach to design and presentation.

   The phone's sleek styling sets it apart from its rivals.

   Her bold styling choices defined the magazine's whole aesthetic.

   Similardesign, look, presentation, decoration, aesthetic

   Note

   Two habits of use show here. As an uncountable noun it names the overall look of a period, object or design, as in a shift from renaissance to baroque styling. As a countable noun, usually plural, it names particular touches within a work, the way Billboard in 2001 credits a rapper with "hardcore and hip-hop stylings." The plural suits descriptions where several influences mix in one piece.

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