What does noising mean?
Noising is the present participle of noise, meaning “making noise.” It describes a continuing sound, as in “The old fan was noising in the corner of the room.” In its older adjectival use, noising means “noisy” or “full of sound,” while the rarer noun refers to an instance or act of making such a sound. Although recorded in both British and American English, noising is now uncommon in casual conversation and often has a literary, archaic, or occupational tone, particularly when describing machinery, crowds, or animals. Speakers would normally choose a more familiar expression such as making noise, roaring, clattering, or a specific sound. The word nevertheless has an interesting history: it belongs to a family whose English ancestry runs through Old French to Latin words associated with harm, injury, and commotion. Noising is worth knowing as a compact and slightly old-fashioned way of giving emphasis to a sound that is already under way.
To make a continuous, loud, or confused sound.
"Generators were noising outside the building."
This is the present participle of the verb noise.
Making much noise; noisy.
"The noising traffic continued through the night."
Chiefly literary, archaic, or technical in contemporary English.
An instance or act of making a loud or confused sound.
"The noising of the machinery woke the neighbors."
This noun is rare and is more often encountered in phrases describing a recurring or conspicuous sound.
The countable plural is rare; noising is more often used as a mass noun in phrases such as “the noising of machinery.”
"Several sharp noisings came from the faulty engine."
Noising is the sound of a word whose ancestors meant harm, scandal, and commotion.
Reviewed by Deb Chak, Editor. AI-assisted content curated by RJS Tech Solutions LLP.
Words that share this root
Related word forms
How noising is actually used
Noising is considerably less common than noise, noisy, or making noise. Its noun and adjective uses often sound literary, archaic, or technical, while the participle can be effective when describing a continuing sound.