vacationing

1. 1
   noununcountable

   The act of taking a vacation.

   Frequent vacationing left their savings account looking rather thin.

   For this family, vacationing meant long road trips and roadside motels.

   Similarholidaying, travel, touring

   Note

   A true noun, spelled exactly like the gerund of the verb form but behaving differently. It can take a plural, vacationings, and it is modified by adjectives rather than adverbs. Frequent vacationing marks the noun, while vacationing frequently marks the verb. When the two are hard to tell apart, the modifier settles it: an adjective in front means the noun.

2. 2
   verb

   Present participle of vacation.

   We are vacationing in Italy while the kids are out of school.

   Vacationing without checking work email took her a few days to manage.

   Note

   An intransitive verb, so it never takes a direct object: people vacation in Italy or at the shore, never vacation Italy. The -ing form does two jobs. After be it builds the progressive (we are vacationing), and on its own it can head a phrase as a gerund (vacationing without checking email). It shares its spelling with the noun for taking vacations.

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