Real Dictionary

present participle
countable noun: In grammar, the present participle of a verb is the form which ends in '-ing'. Present participles are used to form continuous tenses, as in 'She was wearing a neat blue suit'. They are often nouns, as in 'I hate cooking' and 'Cooking can be fun'. Many of

present participle in American English
a participle used
noun: a participle form, in English having the suffix -ing, denoting repetition or duration of an activity or event: used as an adjective, as in the growing weeds, and in forming progressive verb forms, as in The weeds are growing.

present participle in British English
noun: a participial form of verbs used adjectivally when the action it describes is contemporaneous with that of the main verb of a sentence and also used in the formation of certain compound tenses. In English this form ends in -ing