What does sending mean?
Sending is the act of causing a message, object, signal, or person to travel from one person or place to another. As a verb form of send, it commonly occurs with nouns such as message, email, letter, package, signal, and invoice. The expression can suggest ordinary communication, as in sending a friend a photograph, or the transfer of information or materials, as in sending data over a network. In formal and technical contexts, sending also has a nominal use meaning the process itself: “the sending of an invitation” or “the sending of radio signals.” The word is neutral in tone, although phrases such as “sending a message” can sometimes imply that someone wants to communicate a warning, criticism, or emphatic opinion. It is used in both British and American English and forms part of many fixed expressions, including sending an email, sending a letter, and sending a package.
To cause a message, object, signal, or person to go to someone or somewhere else.
"They sent the package by overnight delivery."
This is the present participle and gerund form of send.
The act or process of transmitting or dispatching a message, object, signal, or person.
"The sending of the message was delayed by a network problem."
The noun use is most common in formal, technical, and administrative contexts.
The plural is uncommon; the singular is generally preferred in modern English.
"The office recorded several sendings of the same legal notice."
From the Old English word for setting a messenger on the way, 'sending' has come to mean moving words, parcels, and data across the world.
Reviewed by Deb Chak, Editor. AI-assisted content curated by RJS Tech Solutions LLP.
Where does sending come from?
The word descends from Old English sendan, which was inherited from Proto-Germanic and is cognate with forms in German, Dutch, and other Germanic languages. In Middle English it was commonly written as senden. Modern usage preserves both the verbal action of transmitting or dispatching and the derived noun meaning the act of sending.
Related word forms
How sending is actually used
In everyday usage, sending usually takes an object such as a message, gift, email, or package. The noun use is especially common in formal or technical contexts, including phrases such as 'the sending of a message' and 'the sending of signals.'
Easily confused with sending
Sending is the act of transmitting something, whereas ending is the act of finishing or bringing something to a close.