Meaning & use
prune
To trim a plant by cutting away dead, damaged, or overgrown branches to encourage healthy growth.
See it in a sentence
Every autumn, the gardener prunes the rose bushes back to encourage new blooms in spring.
The manager pruned the budget, cutting several unnecessary expenses from the final proposal.
A note on using this word
Prune is often used figuratively for cutting down anything excessive, such as a budget, a list, or a piece of writing.
Words with a similar meaning
Choose a synonym to suit the sentence. Meanings can overlap without being identical.
Another way to use it
2. noun
A dried plum, eaten as a snack or used in cooking, often associated with aiding digestion.
She added a handful of chopped prunes to the morning oatmeal for natural sweetness.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “prune”, then compare your use with the examples above.