the process of becoming cooler; a falling temperature
"The cooling breeze from the lake helped lower the heat after such a hot day."
A decrease in temperature.
"The cooling breeze from the open window made the stuffy room feel much more comfortable."
In plain English: Cooling is the process of making something less hot.
"The cooling of the engine took about an hour before we could drive again."
Usage: Use "cooling" primarily as an adjective to describe something that lowers temperature or provides relief from heat, rather than as a standalone noun. When referring to the concept of a temperature drop as a thing itself, use the noun "cooling" only within specific technical phrases like "thermal cooling."
present participle of cool
"The cooling breeze from the open window finally helped lower the temperature in the stuffy room."
In plain English: To cool something means to make it less hot.
"The breeze was helping to cool the hot pavement."
Usage: Use cooling to describe the active process of something becoming less hot or intense over time. Avoid using it to mean simply being cold, which is the state described by the adjective cool.
That cools.
"The air conditioning unit is working perfectly, keeping the room at a comfortable cooling temperature all summer long."
In plain English: Cooling describes something that is becoming less hot or angry and more calm.
"The cooling breeze made the hot afternoon feel much more pleasant."
Usage: Use "cooling" as an adjective to describe something that actively lowers temperature or calms emotions, such as a cooling breeze or cooling words. Avoid using it for objects that are merely cold unless they are currently in the process of becoming cooler.
The word cooling is formed by adding the suffix -ing to the base word cool. It functions as a present participle describing the action or process of becoming cooler.