0 present participle of preen
1 If a bird preens or preens itself, it cleans and arranges its feathers using its beak.
2 to feel very proud or satisfied with yourself because of an action or quality:
In birds a functionally similar form of this behavior is called social preening.
He somewhat coyly looks away from the camera as if not quite ready for his close-up, but all the while preening.
And that tabby cat preening itself in the corner?
Chicks, however, actively remove ticks while preening themselves.
Consider a pigeon preening its feathers and emitting a string of key pecks, for example.
But these were not mere preening of advertisement copy.
Preening itself, it took the opportunity to increase its expenditure by £42,000.
Indeed, for a long time, we cannot have seen an aging emperor preening himself upon his apparel when he stands stark naked.
