Meanings
plural primings
- A substance used as a primer.
The spot was bright and lively now; but in winter it became necessary to place sandbags against the door, and to stuff up the keyhole against the wind and rain, which had worn the paint so thin that the priming and knotting showed through.
1888, Thomas Hardy, “An Imaginative Woman”, in Wessex Tales - biologyA form of seed planting preparation in which the seeds are presoaked in a nanoparticle solution.
- engineeringA harmful condition in which water is carried over from the boiler of a steam locomotive.
There have been failures, of course, and especially delays due to bad steaming, and, more often, priming.
1959 April, P. Ransome-Wallis, “The Southern in Trouble on the Kent Coast”, in Trains Illustrated, London: Ian Allan Publishing, →ISSN, →OCLC, page 2161 more example
Priming may easily be detected by the motion of the water in the glass water gauge, or by the "flutter" of the gauge cocks when opened.
1880, William Miller Barr, Handbook for Steam Engineers and Owners: Being a Practical Guide to the Selection and Care of Steam Machinery, J.H. Kerrick & Company, page 119 - engineeringThe powder or other combustible used to communicate fire to a charge of gunpowder, as in a firearm.
- mediaA cognitive process in which media information increases temporarily the accessibility of knowledge units in the memory of an individual.
- biologyThe effect that a nutrient has on the rate of organic matter decomposition
- human sciencesThe implicit memory effect in which exposure to a stimulus influences response to a subsequent stimulus.
- human sciencesA form of positive priming that induces a tendency to repeat or more easily process a sentence that is similar in structure to one previously presented.
- gerundparticiplepresentpresent participle and gerund of prime
Synonyms & antonyms
nounany igniter that is used to initiate the burning of a propellant
nounthe first or preliminary coat of paint or size applied to a surface
Synonym sets from Open English WordNet, CC BY 4.0.
Translations
Czech priming
- primingpsychology
Finnish sytytin, alustus
- sytytinsubstance
- alustuspsychology
French amorce
- amorcesubstance
Hebrew תִּחוּל
- תִּחוּל (tikhul)substance
Hungarian alapozó, előfeszítés
- alapozósubstance
- előfeszítéspsychology
- előhangoláspsychology
- előkészítéspsychology
Rhymes & wordplay
Rhymes with priming
All rhymes →Cite this entry
priming. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 3, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/priming
“priming.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/priming. Accessed November 3, 2026.
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “priming,” accessed November 3, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/priming.
Source: priming on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.