leafing lea·fing UK/ˈliːfɪŋ/ US/ˈlifɪŋ/ uncommon noun 1. (botany) the process of forming leaves Synonymsfoliation Related words Word family foliate Broader terms growth WordNet 2.1 (Princeton University). Wiktionary (CC BY-SA). CMU Pronouncing Dictionary. WordNet 2.1 Copyright Princeton University. All rights reserved.