blueing
/ˈbluːɪŋ/
noun
- A blue substance or dye used to whiten laundry or to give a blue tint to metal.
- Old-fashioned laundry blueing is still sold in some hardware stores.
- She added a capful of blueing to the wash to keep her white shirts bright.
- The gunsmith applied blueing to the steel barrel to protect it from rust.
verb
- Present participle of blue; the act of making something blue or treating it with a blue substance.
- The laundress was blueing the linens to make them look whiter.
- They spent the afternoon blueing the fence to match the house trim.
- He is blueing the metal parts of the antique pistol.