Meaning & use
barbering
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Meanings
noununcountable
The work or skill of cutting and styling men's hair and shaving beards.
Grammar: Uncountable, so no plural and no 'a': say 'a career in barbering', not 'a barbering'.
Patterns
- a career in barbering
- study barbering
- the art of barbering
He trained in barbering before opening his own shop.
The college offers a one-year course in barbering.
Barbering has become popular again, with many young men wanting sharp fades.
verbtransitiverare
Present participle of barber: cutting or trimming someone's hair.
Grammar: Used as the -ing form of the verb 'barber', usually in continuous tenses: he is barbering.
Patterns
- be barbering someone
She was barbering a regular customer when I walked in.
He has been barbering in this neighborhood for thirty years.
Common combinations
- a career in barbering
- She gave up office work for a career in barbering.
- train in barbering
- He trained in barbering at a school in the city.
- the barbering trade
- The barbering trade runs in their family.
- barbering skills
- Good barbering skills take years to develop.
Synonyms and how they differ
- hairdressing
- Covers cutting and styling for everyone; barbering usually means men's cuts and shaving.
- haircutting
- Focuses only on cutting; barbering also includes shaving and beard work.
Word family
- barber noun
- A person whose job is cutting men's hair and shaving beards.
- barbershop noun
- The place where a barber works.
Commonly confused: barbering or barbering?
barbering vs barbering
Do not confuse with 'bartering', which means exchanging goods without money.
Practice
The college runs a course in ___, so students learn to cut men's hair and shave beards.
Choose one answer.
'Barbering' is the uncountable noun for the activity or trade. 'Barber' is the person, and 'barbers' is only the plural of that person, so neither fits after 'a course in'.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “barbering”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.