blacking
blacking Lexical Profile
blacking Game Scores & Validity
• noun
A black paste, liquid, or powder used for polishing or darkening surfaces, especially leather shoes, boots, or cast-iron stoves.
"As a boy, Charles Dickens worked in a factory pasting labels onto pots of boot blacking."
The act or process of making something black or dark.
"The deliberate blacking of the windows prevented any light from escaping into the street."
• verb
To make something black, especially by applying polish, dye, or soot.
"The actor was backstage blacking his boots before stepping onto the stage."
British To refuse to handle, deal with, or work on goods or services as part of a trade union boycott or industrial action.
"The dockworkers voted in favor of blacking all cargo arriving from the disputed port."
• Rhymes for blacking
• Nearby Words
Word Origin & Etymology
Formed in Middle English from the verb 'black' (from Old English 'blæc', meaning dark or ink) combined with the noun-forming and participial suffix '-ing'. In the 18th and 19th centuries, the noun sense became widely associated with commercial boot polish.