spraying

verb

present participle of spray
as in sprinkling
to cover by or as if by scattering something over or on sprayed the lawn with pesticides

Synonyms & Similar Words

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Example Sentences

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of spraying Body camera video shows the officer spraying Ludwig at point-blank range. — Los Angeles Times, 11 Aug. 2026 Nearby, a member of my team walked into the hallway to ask what was happening just as a bullet shattered her window, spraying her office with glass. — Daniel Jernigan, STAT, 7 Aug. 2026 Out of the frame, Koehn watched as the 24-year-old ran, spraying fire one-handed in his wake. — Idaho Statesman, 7 Aug. 2026 Natural treatments include pruning affected areas, spraying with water, applying rubbing alcohol, or using horticultural oils. — Leanne Potts, Better Homes & Gardens, 5 Aug. 2026 The zoo staff tried to cool her off by spraying her with water and providing her fluids with intravenous dips, but Mugi eventually died on July 28. — Frank Landymore, Futurism, 5 Aug. 2026 May 7, 2026 – Installation continues after a May 6 rain delay, with cleaning and spraying 68,000 square feet of the pool's surface with a coating known as Rhino 406. — Dinah Voyles Pulver, USA Today, 3 Aug. 2026 Don’t improvise by spraying an animal with your own repellent. — Angela Haupt, Time, 3 Aug. 2026 Emergency responders rushed to the scene after the crash, with aerial footage showing firefighters spraying fire retardant on the burning wreckage while thick black smoke rose above the base. — Neetika Walter, Interesting Engineering, 31 July 2026
Recent Examples of Synonyms for spraying
  1. sprinkling
  2. dotting
  3. peppering
Verb
  • Wheat, rice, and corn flours are the three most common options for sprinkling over your soil.
    — Ashley Chalmers, The Spruce, 14 Aug. 2026
  • But by the 1960s, the techniques of Central Texas — sprinkling briskets with salt and pepper and cooking them over indirect heat — started to become more commonplace.
    — Catherine Garcia, TheWeek, 13 Aug. 2026
Definition of sprinkling
Verb
  • The scoring was tit for tat to the end, with winger Stravino Jacobs and captain Marcell Coetzee dotting down for the Bulls, and Carter and Wallace Sititi replying for New Zealand's second straight 50-pointer.
    — ABC News, ABC News, 15 Aug. 2026
  • In one of the last shots, Camille’s character lies flat on a bed with stab wounds dotting her abdomen.
    — Nancy Dillon, Rolling Stone, 5 Aug. 2026
Definition of dotting
Verb
  • Featuring cameos from Latin superstars like Peso Pluma, J Balvin and Ryan Castro, the LP itself is hard to define as simply house music; RØZ is known best for peppering its EDM with a heavy dose of Latino sazon.
    — Andrea Flores, Los Angeles Times, 13 Aug. 2026
  • Finding all these guys, and so many more peppering the scene, served as an important reminder.
    — Literary Hub, Literary Hub, 7 Aug. 2026
Definition of peppering

Browse Nearby Words

sprayed
spraying
sprays
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Cite this Entry

“Spraying.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/spraying. Accessed 17 Aug. 2026.

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More from Merriam-Webster on spraying

Nglish: Translation of spraying for Spanish Speakers

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