noun

petting

PEH-tihng

noun

The act of gently stroking or patting an animal.

"Kids lined up at the petting zoo to stroke the goats."

Kissing and touching someone in a sexual but non-penetrative way.

"The teenagers were caught petting in the back row of the cinema."

How to Use Petting

Learner’s notes

In plain EnglishEither affectionately touching an animal, or physically fooling around with a romantic partner short of sex.

Common pairings

petting zoo heavy petting

pettings plural

Study it as flashcards or scroll it in Flow — saved to your collection.

Can you complete this real example?

Kids lined up at the _____ zoo to stroke the goats.

setting wetting getting letting betting netting vetting abetting fretting upsetting resetting forgetting