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Glite Dictionary
🧶 Fabric fuzz balls 💊 Making pills
pilling

pilling

5.5
Small balls of loose fiber that form on clothing when it rubs against another surface
  • noun
  • /ˈpɪlɪŋ/
translation icon : formación de bolitas
  • She quickly removed the pilling from her favorite sweater using a fabric shaver.
  • pilling sweater
  • pilling after months
  • resists pilling

Examples

  • It's literally Pilling up like it was just a no.

  • OK, so the foundation is Pilling quite a bit.

  • Oh no, Oh no, it's Pilling again, gosh darn it.

  • I also wash towels on their own, and that keeps my clothes from pilling.

    Blog text (5)

  • It's also water based, which means it layers well with skin care and makeup, so Pilling really isn't an issue.

  • Detergent makers now add enzymes to reduce pilling, but there is a risk of fading the color and weakening the fabric.

    Academic text (1997)

  • The sweater began to show signs of pilling after several washes, making it look worn out.

  • To maintain its appearance, avoid using rough laundry cycles to prevent pilling on delicate fabrics.

Synonyms

fuzzing
vspilling
6.9

Small soft fibers that appear on cloth after washing or wearing

forms small compact balls on the surface from friction rather than loose fibers

How Worn

wear
44 4.3
pilling
5.5
newness
12 1.9

Surface Forms

pilling singular
pillings plural

Morphology

pilling = pill (transparent) = pill + ing

The noun is transparently formed from the verb 'pill' plus the action/result noun suffix '-ing'.

Etymology

Pilling comes from the small pill meaning 'small ball' of fiber that forms on cloth when it is rubbed, so pilling means the appearance of those tiny balls on a sweater.