1. Word finder
  2. Word definitions
  3. thin

Find the word definition

What is "thin"

Crossword clues for thin

thin
Longman Dictionary of Contemporary English
thin
I.adjective
COLLOCATIONS FROM OTHER ENTRIES
a thin mouth (=with thin lips)
▪ a woman with a sharp nose and a thin mouth
a thin slice
▪ Serve it with thin slices of bread and butter.
disappear into thin air (=completely)
▪ The money he made has disappeared into thin air.
fine/thin
▪ Use a piece of fine wire to clear the obstruction.
joke wears thin
▪ The film begins well but the joke wears thin after about ten minutes.
large/thin/slight etc frame
sb's patience is wearing thin (=they are becoming angry)
▪ People's patience is wearing thin as the queues for visas get longer.
stuck by...through thick and thin
▪ Jean has stuck by her husband through thick and thin.
stuck together through thick and thin
▪ Then, families stuck together through thick and thin.
the air is thin (=there is less oxygen because you are in a high place)
▪ People cannot live up there because the air is too thin and there is not enough oxygen to breathe.
thin build
▪ He had the thin build of a long-distance runner.
thin layer
▪ The moon was shining through a thin layer of cloud.
thin veneer
▪ A thin veneer of politeness hid Lady Bride’s growing anger.
thin
▪ The ice is too thin to skate on.
thin (=not deep)
▪ The thin soil is easily washed away.
thin/bony shoulders
▪ She put her arm around the girl’s thin shoulders.
thin/light cotton
▪ a thin cotton dress
thin/narrow
▪ Tears rolled down her thin face.
thinning (=becoming thinner because you are losing your hair)
▪ His dark hair was thinning on top.
vanished into thin air (=suddenly disappeared in a very mysterious way)
▪ She seemed to have just vanished into thin air.
worn thin
▪ His jeans have worn thin at the knees.
COLLOCATIONS FROM CORPUS
■ ADVERB
too
▪ But there were hollows in her cheeks and she was too thin for beauty.
▪ According to the Duchess of Windsor, one can never be too rich or too thin.
▪ Moscow's real forces on the ground were too thin and too preoccupied with the Civil War.
▪ If too thin, add a bit more flour.
▪ Prices were too high in the Aberdeen area and, once again, people too thin on the ground on the West Coast.
▪ The resources were too thin and the natives were too resistant.
▪ Examine under the phase microscope and if it is too thin, spin down again and remove some of the fixative.
▪ The pasta was rolled a little too thin.
very
▪ That does not say much for the top chasers of the day, which are very thin on the ground.
▪ Over six feet tall, he weighed 120 pounds and was a very thin man.
▪ It is built up in very thin washes.
▪ At sixteen, I was still very thin, unattractive, and underdeveloped.
▪ In his dark-brown suit, he looked tall and very thin, and he wore a brown toupee and small rim1ess glasses.
▪ She was short - not much more than five feet tall - and very thin, like most of the people here.
▪ When I was in high school, I was always very thin.
■ NOUN
air
▪ The beginner normally learns combination techniques by performing them against thin air.
▪ One thing Galarraga should consider before he makes the move: The thin air in Denver has been good to him.
▪ The interior was gloomy; tobacco smoke hung motionless in the thin air.
▪ He was nestling within thin air and cinders.
▪ You can tell these mysterious trails were not made yesterday, because of the way they seem to disappear into thin air.
▪ He found rhymes irresistible, and produced them out of thin air, just for the fun of it.
▪ Too late she remembered about the steep bank behind her and stepped into thin air.
▪ Radio is an underrated medium because everything we do evaporates into thin air.
cotton
▪ The very thin cotton called voile is excellent when pleated.
▪ They keep their legs slightly apart so as not ro bruise the boils under their too short dresses and thin cotton underpants.
▪ The thin cotton pyjamas could not conceal his aroused state.
▪ I prefer to make my own, using thin cotton string.
▪ His touch seemed to burn her through the thin cotton of her white blouse.
▪ The thin cotton of his pyjamas did nothing to cushion the discomfort of the wicker scraping his bony body.
face
▪ I'd forgotten what a thin face Dad had got - how old he was.
▪ In the back seat a thin face stared ahead.
▪ It was a thin face, but clear and alert.
▪ By contrast, the eyes showed light in her thin face.
▪ All he saw was his thin face, a soft down forming on his forehead, his sunken, fearful eyes.
▪ His thin face was yellowish-white and his whole body seemed somehow diminished.
▪ Of indeterminate age, he had moist grey eyes set in a pale, thin face.
ice
▪ And that's fairly thin ice on which to skate one's credibility!
▪ The ground is frozen, thin ice covers the puddles between the furrows of the empty gray field.
▪ It had been granted grudgingly and she knew she was on thin ice as far as her superiors were concerned.
▪ Bush had the look of thin ice.
▪ He was on thin ice before.
▪ Notices warning of the dangers of thin ice were put up in the last few days when the lake froze over.
line
▪ Thick or thin lines of paint or a sprayed effect can be obtained.
▪ The parade continued on Fifth Avenue, but only a thin line of onlookers remained to watch.
▪ There was a thin line of light at the bottom edge.
▪ Ellen could visualize the puckers of thin lines forming between her wide-spaced eyes.
▪ The middle of the road was a thin line that disappeared.
▪ I want them to understand there can be a thin line between work and play.
▪ And there was in practice a very thin line between peaceful protest and the other variety.
▪ His lips were compressed into a thin line as he awaited some explanation.
lip
▪ Paler, shiny colours help thin lips look more full.
▪ His dark skin glistens, his slanted eyes above his high cheekbones are cruel, his thin lips are determined.
▪ She has a narrow face, deep-set eyes, sharp nose and thin lips.
▪ His spare middle-aged frame is topped by a large head with sallow cheeks, thin lips, and receding chin.
▪ They were humanoids: short, Caucasian but hairless, with thin lips and bulging black eyes.
▪ An emaciated fellow with jet black hair, thin lips and large brooding eyes caught the friar's eye.
▪ She looked up from her Tarot cards as Topaz approached, her thin lips tightening.
▪ Her thin lip curled in a rare smile - one might say she had been pursuing her own studies.
sheet
▪ The thin sheet of paper inside was a receipt.
▪ Even a thin sheet of card, or a foot of air, will absorb a good proportion.
▪ The minute particles in the rock have been flattened with the result that the slate splits easily into thin sheets.
▪ Surround meat with thin sheets of fat and tie into A place before roasting.
▪ There were mattresses but no blankets, only thin sheets.
▪ He was curious to investigate what would happen if he passed the Alphas through an exceptionally thin sheet of material.
▪ Dacron Thermoline: solid structure polyester fibre bonded into a thin sheet.
▪ These are sold in very thin sheets that can be cut to the desired size, filled, sealed and boiled.
skin
▪ McCaffrey is also notorious for his thin skin, which may explain why he has studiously avoided public debate.
▪ The present land surface is a thin skin on top of a thick record of the past preserved in the rocks.
▪ As they get older they tend to have very thin skin and can bruise from the slightest injury.
▪ There was water at the bottom covered by a thin skin of ice and he splashed into it face first.
▪ Clean thin skin, with shallow eyes. 3.
▪ With no work to do, the hangers-on become feeble, with thin skins and mouths reduced to tubes.
▪ They can not breed without water, and their thin skins must be kept moist or they will dehydrate and die.
▪ If only I had a duck's back instead of wafer thin skin.
slice
▪ Again, all will contain some cream, but a thin slice should do little harm.
▪ Layer into a bowl, alternating with thin slices of onion and a little salt and pepper.
▪ A roster for crusts had to be started as these contained more bread than the average thin slice.
▪ Cut the mushrooms into thin slices.
▪ Carve thin slices vertically, then repeat.
▪ Narbutas looked closely at the corners, where two thin slices of granite met.
▪ A spokeswoman from Asda suggested a thin slice of creamy Wensleydale cheese to turn mince pies into a gourmet treat.
▪ Further trimming can be carried out on smaller diamond saws, which are capable of producing thin slices.
veneer
▪ Above that is a thin veneer of hard cases, who continue offending into their twenties.
▪ Under this thin veneer of modesty lies a monster of greed.
▪ By this he means acquiring a thin veneer of knowledge to mask his corruption.
▪ I was afraid alcohol would eat through the thin veneer of self-control.
▪ A thin veneer of cork is bonded of a painted backing shows through in places to create a two-colour finish.
PHRASES FROM OTHER ENTRIES
be (skating) on thin ice
▪ Legally, the company is on very thin ice with its actions.
▪ You're skating on thin ice, showing up late for work every day.
▪ He was on thin ice before.
▪ It had been granted grudgingly and she knew she was on thin ice as far as her superiors were concerned.
be skating on thin ice
be spread (too) thin/thinly
▪ Perhaps the managerial talent that was responsible for the steady growth is spread too thin.
▪ Some one must lose, even if the losses are spread thinly.
▪ The ointment should be spread thinly on the bruised areas.
have (a) thin/thick skin
▪ Some people have thick skins, others have thin ones and are more easily hurt.
spread yourself too thin
▪ BHart said the organization, though well-intentioned, might be spreading itself too thin.
sth is wearing thin
▪ The joke about prudence is wearing thin.
through thick and thin
▪ I'm so grateful to Barb- she's supported me through thick and thin.
▪ The old pull of party allegiance, support for your party through thick and thin, is fading.
EXAMPLES FROM OTHER ENTRIES
▪ "What do you want?" gasped Helen in a thin, frightened voice.
▪ a thin blue line
▪ a thin slice of bread
▪ a wire as thin as a human hair
▪ For these crepes you will need a fairly thin batter, so do not add too much flour.
▪ He's tall and thin and wears glasses.
▪ His hair's getting thin on top.
▪ How do you get your sugar cookies so thin, Dagmar?
▪ I'm afraid the evidence is really too thin as it stands. We need to investigate further.
▪ I was disappointed with your history essay, it seemed a little thin in terms of content.
▪ I wish my legs were thinner.
▪ In her pocket was a thin leather wallet containing six ten dollar bills.
▪ It was a chilly night, and he had only a thin blanket for warmth.
▪ Larry was tall and thin with dark brown hair and bright blue eyes.
▪ Martin wore a thin cotton shirt under his sweater.
▪ My curtains are too thin to keep the sun out.
▪ She looked pale, thin, and unhealthy.
▪ That's a pretty thin excuse - he could have gotten there if he'd really wanted to.
▪ The air is so thin up here I can hardly breathe.
▪ The lake was covered with a thin layer of ice.
EXAMPLES FROM CORPUS
▪ At sixteen, I was still very thin, unattractive, and underdeveloped.
▪ Both of them noticed with shock how alarmingly thin she was, frail to the point of vanishing.
▪ Her thick brown cotton stockings were bunched around her thin ankles, her legs were blue.
▪ If this showed their somewhat thin knowledge of my country, the compliment was returned.
▪ In fact, one of the features that sets the goat-antelopes apart from their relatives is the relatively thin and fragile skull.
▪ It is a cage, suspended from the ceiling by the thinnest of threads.
▪ The layers of paint are built up by the application of a thin wash, staining the primed canvas.
II.adverb
EXAMPLES FROM CORPUS
▪ Core and slice apples very, very thin.
III.verb
COLLOCATIONS FROM CORPUS
■ ADVERB
down
▪ What would have thinned down-his wallet, his waistline, his ego?
▪ Convinced that Carla can be his if he thins down, Sherman gulps the hamster serum and becomes gorgeously, Spandexy thin.
▪ Industry magazines have thinned down so much with the collapse of internet advertising that they can now be stapled rather than bound.
▪ Prime with two to three coats of eggshell, thinning down the first one with white spirit to avoid ridges.
▪ Some paint must be thinned down, some comes ready.
▪ For a soft effect, thin down an oil-based paint with spirits, and then apply your colour with a brush.
▪ Flanging, by nature, has the effect of thinning down a signal, especially if used on an extreme setting.
▪ Paste colour provides a rich intense shade without thinning down the fondant and marzipan as with liquids.
out
▪ Aftercare Spring cabbage can be thinned out at the end of winter to their final spacings.
▪ So cutting out unnecessary layers and thinning out the staffs are normally useful things to do.
▪ Towards the north these turn into pine forests and eventually thin out to form the grassy plains of Kislev.
▪ Parked on his trunk, Mitchell finished reading the Miami HemId; both the crowd and his optimism began to thin out.
▪ The car remained crowded as far as Holborn and then the passengers thinned out.
▪ When they thinned out he headed for the cherry blossoms, then magnolia, chinaberry, pecan, walnut and prickly pear.
▪ Above Twenty-third Street the buildings began to thin out.
▪ Past Kingston the thruway traffic thinned out.
■ NOUN
hair
▪ Mike, whose own hair is visibly thinning despite careful combing, took the sight of Harvey in a hand towel badly.
▪ His hair was thinning and combed straight back from his face.
▪ Over the years his hair had thinned, his figure grown more corpulent, his face redder and shinier.
▪ His hair was thinning on top but he had a small ponytail at the back.
▪ Body seems in fair condition, own hair, not thinning.
▪ This can worsen after the menopause, when the face becomes hairier, while other body hair thins.
▪ Checked shirt, windcheater with a black zip, brown hair, thinning slightly.
PHRASES FROM OTHER ENTRIES
be (skating) on thin ice
▪ Legally, the company is on very thin ice with its actions.
▪ You're skating on thin ice, showing up late for work every day.
▪ He was on thin ice before.
▪ It had been granted grudgingly and she knew she was on thin ice as far as her superiors were concerned.
have (a) thin/thick skin
▪ Some people have thick skins, others have thin ones and are more easily hurt.
through thick and thin
▪ I'm so grateful to Barb- she's supported me through thick and thin.
▪ The old pull of party allegiance, support for your party through thick and thin, is fading.
EXAMPLES FROM OTHER ENTRIES
▪ Add a little oil to thin the mixture.
▪ The small group of protesters thinned out by midnight.
▪ They went through the fields to thin the sugar beets.
▪ Zhao's hair has thinned and turned gray.
EXAMPLES FROM CORPUS
▪ Fermanagh the Carboniferous sediments thin northwards against the land mass from which they were derived.
▪ Generally there are too many bodies on stage and it may be your job to thin them out.
▪ With luck, the press might have thinned out.
The Collaborative International Dictionary
Thin

Thin \Thin\, v. t. [imp. & p. p. Thinned; p. pr. & vb. n. Thinning.] [Cf. AS. ge[thorn]ynnian.] To make thin (in any of the senses of the adjective).

Thin

Thin \Thin\, v. i. 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.

Thin

Thin \Thin\, adv. Not thickly or closely; in a seattered state; as, seed sown thin.

Spain is thin sown of people.
--Bacon.

Thin

Thin \Thin\, a. [Compar. Thiner; superl. Thinest.] [OE. thinne, thenne, thunne, AS. [thorn]ynne; akin to D. dun, G. d["u]nn, OHG. dunni, Icel. [thorn]unnr, 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. [root]51 & 237. Cf. Attenuate, Dance, Tempt, Tenable, Tend to move, Tenous, Thunder, Tone.]

  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.

    Note: 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 section. See under Section.

Related phrases:
Douglas Harper's Etymology Dictionary
thin

Old English þynne "narrow, lean, scanty, not dense; fluid, tenuous; weak, poor," from Proto-Germanic *thunni "thin" (cognates: West Frisian ten, Middle Low German dunne, Middle Dutch dunne, Dutch dun, Old High German dunni, German dünn, Old Norse þunnr, Swedish tunn, Danish tynd), from PIE *tnu- "stretched, stretched out" (hence "thin"), from root *ten- "to stretch" (cognates: Latin tenuis "thin, slender;" see tenet).\n\nThese our actors ... were all Spirits, and Are melted into Ayre, into thin Ayre.

[Shakespeare, "The Tempest," IV.i.150, 1610]

\n"Loose or sparse," hence "easily seen through," with figurative extensions. Related: Thinly; thinness. Thin-skinned is attested from 1590s; the figurative sense of "touchy" is from 1670s.
thin

Old English þynnian "to make thin, lessen, dilute," also intransitive, "become thin," from thin (adj.). Intransitive sense of "to become less numerous" is attested from 1743; that of "to become thinner" is recorded from 1804. Compare similarly formed German dünnen, Dutch dunnen. Related: Thinned; thinning.

Wiktionary
thin

  1. 1 Having little thickness or extent from one surface to its opposite. 2 Very narrow in all diameters; having a cross section that is small in all directions. 3 Having little body fat or flesh; slim; slender; lean; gaunt. 4 Of low viscosity or low specific gravity, e.g., as is water compared to honey. 5 scarce; not close, crowded, or numerous; not filling the space. 6 (context golf English) Describing a poorly played golf shot where the ball is struck by the bottom part of the club head. See fat, shank, toe. 7 Lacking body or volume; small; feeble; not full. 8 Slight; small; slender; flimsy; superficial; inadequate; not sufficient for a covering. adv. Not thickly or closely; in a scattered state. n. 1 (context philately English) A loss or tearing of paper from the back of a stamp, although not sufficient to create a complete hole. 2 Any food produced or served in thin slices. v

  2. 1 (context transitive English) To make thin or thinner. 2 (context intransitive English) To become thin or thinner. 3 To dilute. 4 To remove some plants in order to improve the growth of those remaining.

Related phrases:
WordNet
thin

  1. adv. without viscosity; "the blood was flowing thin" [syn: thinly] [ant: thickly]

  2. [also: thinning, thinned, thinnest, thinner]

thin

  1. v. lose thickness; become thin or thinner [ant: thicken]

  2. make thin or thinner; "Thin the solution" [ant: thicken]

  3. lessen the strength or flavor of a solution or mixture; "cut bourbon" [syn: dilute, thin out, reduce, cut]

  4. take off weight [syn: reduce, melt off, lose weight, slim, slenderize, slim down] [ant: gain]

  5. [also: thinning, thinned, thinnest, thinner]

thin

  1. adj. 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" [ant: thick]

  2. lacking excess flesh; "you can't be too rich or too thin"; "Yon Cassius has a lean and hungry look"-Shakespeare [syn: lean] [ant: fat]

  3. very narrow; "a thin line across the page" [syn: slender]

  4. having little substance or significance; "a flimsy excuse"; "slight evidence"; "a tenuous argument"; "a thin plot" [syn: flimsy, slight, tenuous]

  5. not dense; "a thin beard"; "trees were sparse" [syn: sparse]

  6. 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" [ant: thick]

  7. (of sound) lacking resonance or volume; "a thin feeble cry" [ant: full]

  8. lacking spirit or sincere effort; "a thin smile"

  9. [also: thinning, thinned, thinnest, thinner]

Related phrases:
Wikipedia
Thin

Thin may refer to:

  • a lean body shape. (See also: emaciation, underweight) or shap or something else
  • Thin (film), an 2006 HBO documentary about eating disorders.
  • Thin (web server), a Ruby web-server based on Mongrel.
Thin (film)

Thin is a 2006 cinéma vérité documentary film directed by Lauren Greenfield and distributed by HBO. It is an exploration of The Renfrew Center in Coconut Creek, Florida; a 40-bed residential facility for the treatment of women with eating disorders. The film mostly revolves around four women with anorexia nervosa and/or bulimia and their struggles for recovery. It premiered on HBO on November 14, 2006.

Thin is the centerpiece of a multi-faceted campaign designed to explore issues surrounding body image and eating disorders, including a companion book, traveling exhibition of Greenfield's work and a website.

Having already shot photographs at Renfrew for her book Girl Culture, Greenfield returned to the facility to direct Thin, her directorial debut, which she produced in collaboration with producer R.J. Cutler. Living at the center for six months, Greenfield and director of photography Amanda Micheli received unrestricted access, filming not just the therapy sessions, mealtimes and daily weigh-ins that construct the highly structured routine of inpatients' daily lives, but also exploring their turbulent interpersonal relationships with each other, with family and with staff. Access to staff meetings allows us insight into the efforts of the Renfrew medical team and the complex tasks facing them.

The making of the documentary THIN was a continuation of my decade-long exploration of body image and the way the female body has become a primary expression of identity for girls and women in our time. I am intrigued by the way the female body has become a tablet on which our culture’s conflicting messages about femininity are written and rewritten. - Lauren Greenfield

Related phrases:

Usage examples of "thin".

According to his suit sensors, the spaces between the interlocking struts contained a thin molecular haze from the slowly ablating metal.

Venerian lives upon the bottom of an everlasting sea of fog and his thin epidermis, utterly without pigmentation, burns and blisters as frightfully at the least exposure to actinic light as does ours at the touch of a red-hot iron.

When this part is irritated by contact with any object, by caustic, or by a thin slice being cut off, the upper adjoining part of the radicle, for a length of from 6 or 7 to even 12 mm.

A thin and jaundiced face, deep lines and shaven head, mouth adrip with vomit, staring in horror.

Fully afrown, I paused by a window to draw aside the thin cloth which covered it, immediately discovering the presence of thick, heavy raindrops covering the outside of the maglessa-weave panes.

Tall, thin, and dark, Agaric used to walk in deep thought, with his breviary in his hand and his brow loaded with care, through the corridors of the school and the alleys of the garden.

The food industry used thin agarose as an ingredient stablizer to make jelly, ice cream, whipped desserts, and other products.

Mr Adams on the other hand was all agasp and aswim, obliged to be sponged in a hammock under the weatherawnings, and Mrs Homer lost her looks entirely, going yellow and thin.

Although he suspected that her gentle massaging was only aggravating the stain, he gave himself over to the feel of her fingers stroking him through the thin layer of his clothing.

Morgaine objected, the last of them still ahorse, her voice thinned by the roar of the water pouring down and running over rock.

Broken stone and iron gashed her bare feet as she plunged into the black arch of the gate, but the pain was swallowed in icy fear as thin, aimless winds tugged at heras she sensed, rather than saw, something move in the utter blackness over her head.

Carefully, to avoid destroying any existing prints, she removed its contents with a pair of eyebrow tweezers, then unfolded the thin sheets of airmail paper.

There were several sheets of thin airmail paper covered in the same hand.

His mouth was fine, almost thin, and tilted at the moment in a lopsided grin that made him look younger than Alec would have guessed before.

Taken by surprise, Alec turned to find a tall, thin old man smiling down on him.