thin Meaning, Definition & Usage

  1. verb lose thickness; become thin or thinner
  2. verb make thin or thinner
    • Thin the solution
  3. verb lessen the strength or flavor of a solution or mixture
    thin out; cut; dilute; reduce.
    • cut bourbon
  4. verb take off weight
    slim; melt off; slenderize; reduce; slim down; lose weight.
  5. adjective of relatively small extent from one surface to the opposite or in cross section
    • thin wire
    • a thin chiffon blouse
    • a thin book
    • a thin layer of paint
  6. adjective lacking excess flesh
    lean.
    • you can't be too rich or too thin
    • Yon Cassius has a lean and hungry look"-Shakespeare
  7. adjective satellite very narrow
    slender.
    • a thin line across the page
  8. adjective satellite not dense
    sparse.
    • a thin beard
    • trees were sparse
  9. adjective relatively thin in consistency or low in density; not viscous
    • air is thin at high altitudes
    • a thin soup
    • skimmed milk is much thinner than whole milk
    • thin oil
  10. adjective (of sound) lacking resonance or volume
    • a thin feeble cry
  11. adjective satellite lacking spirit or sincere effort
    • a thin smile
  12. adjective satellite lacking substance or significance; a fragile claim to fame"
    flimsy; fragile; tenuous; slight.
    • slight evidence
    • a tenuous argument
    • a thin plot
  13. adverb without viscosity
    thinly.
    • the blood was flowing thin

WordNet

Thin adjective
Etymology
OE. thinne, thenne, thunne, AS. þynne; akin to D. dun, G. dünn, OHG. dunni, Icel. þunnr, Sw. tunn, Dan. tynd, Gael. & Ir. tana, W. teneu, L. tenuis, Gr. (in comp.) stretched out, stretched, stretched out, long, Skr. tanu thin, slender; also to AS. enian to extend, G. dehnen, Icel. enja, Goth. anjan (in comp.), L. tendere to stretch, tenere to hold, Gr. to stretch, Skr. tan. *51 & 237. Cf. Attenuate, Dance, Tempt, Tenable, Tend to move, Tenous, Thunder, Tone.
Wordforms
comparative Thiner ; superlative Thinest
Definitions
  1. Having little thickness or extent from one surface to its opposite; as, a thin plate of metal; thin paper; a thin board; a thin covering.
  2. Rare; not dense or thick; -- applied to fluids or soft mixtures; as, thin blood; thin broth; thin air. Shak.
    In the day, when the air is more thin. Bacon.
    Satan, bowing low His gray dissimulation, disappeared, Into thin air diffused. Milton.
  3. Not close; not crowded; not filling the space; not having the individuals of which the thing is composed in a close or compact state; hence, not abundant; as, the trees of a forest are thin; the corn or grass is thin.
    Ferrara is very large, but extremely thin of people. Addison.
  4. Not full or well grown; wanting in plumpness.
    Seven thin ears . . . blasted with the east wind. Gen. xli. 6.
  5. Not stout; slim; slender; lean; gaunt; as, a person becomes thin by disease.
  6. Wanting in body or volume; small; feeble; not full.
    Thin, hollow sounds, and lamentable screams. Dryden.
  7. Slight; small; slender; flimsy; wanting substance or depth or force; superficial; inadequate; not sufficient for a covering; as, a thin disguise.
    My tale is done, for my wit is but thin. Chaucer.
    ✍ Thin is used in the formation of compounds which are mostly self-explaining; as, thin-faced, thin-lipped, thin-peopled, thin-shelled, and the like.
Thin adverb
Definitions
  1. Not thickly or closely; in a seattered state; as, seed sown thin.
    Spain is thin sown of people. Bacon.
Thin transitive verb
Etymology
Cf. AS. geþynnian.
Wordforms
imperfect & past participle Thinned ; present participle & verbal noun Thinning
Definitions
  1. To make thin (in any of the senses of the adjective).
Thin intransitive verb
Definitions
  1. To grow or become thin; -- used with some adverbs, as out, away, etc.; as, geological strata thin out, i. e., gradually diminish in thickness until they disappear.

Webster 1913