1. trim (a tree, shrub, or bush) by cutting away dead or overgrown branches or stems, especially to increase fruitfulness and growth: "now is the time to prune roses"Similarcut backtrimthinthin outpinch backcropclipshearpollardtopdockshapeeven upneatentidy (up)
▪ cut away (a branch or stem): "prune back the branches"Similarcut offlop (off)chop offhack offclipsnip (off)nip offdockseverdetachremove
▪ reduce the extent of (something) by removing superfluous or unwanted parts: "reduction achieved by working harder or pruning costs"Similarreducecutcut backcut downcut back onparepare downslim downmake reductions inmake cutbacks intrimwhittle away/downsalami-slicedecreasediminishaxeshrinkminimizeeliminateget rid ofdo away withinformal:slash
▪ remove (superfluous or unwanted parts) from something:"Elliot deliberately pruned away details"
Word Originlate 15th century (in the sense ‘abbreviate’): from Old French pro(o)ignier, possibly based on Latin rotundus ‘round’.
