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Lean

//liːn// adj, name, noun, verb, slang

Definitions

Adjective
  1. 1
    Slim; not fleshy.

    "They will now dedicate several hours at the gym every day to be leaner and stronger."

  2. 2
    Having little fat.

    "lean steak cuts"

  3. 3
    Having little extra or little to spare; scanty; meagre.

    "a lean budget"

  4. 4
    Having a low proportion or concentration of a desired substance or ingredient.

    "A lean ore hardly worth mining."

  5. 5
    Of a character which prevents the compositor from earning the usual wages; opposed to fat. archaic

    "lean copy, matter, or type"

Show 1 more definition
  1. 6
    Efficient, economic, frugal, agile, slimmed-down; pertaining to the modern industrial principles of "lean manufacturing".

    "lean management"

Adjective
  1. 1
    lacking excess flesh wordnet
  2. 2
    not profitable or prosperous wordnet
  3. 3
    lacking in mineral content or combustible material wordnet
  4. 4
    containing little excess wordnet
Proper Noun
  1. 1
    A surname.
Noun
  1. 1
    An inclination away from the vertical.

    "The trees had various leans toward gaps in the canopy."

  2. 2
    Meat with no fat on it. uncountable

    "Jack Sprat would eat no fat, / His wife would eat no lean."

  3. 3
    A recreational drug composed of codeine-promethazine cough syrup mixed with usually soda and associated with the hip-hop culture of the Southern United States. US, slang, uncountable

    "Eyes real tight 'cause I'm chokin' the creep; vision messed up 'cause I'm drinkin' the lean."

  4. 4
    the property possessed by a line or surface that departs from the vertical wordnet
  5. 5
    An organism that is lean in stature. countable

    "The intermediates and leans are the predominant morphotypes found at the SE-NHR seamounts […]"

Verb
  1. 1
    To incline, deviate, or bend, from a vertical position; to be in a position thus inclining or deviating. intransitive

    "a leaning column"

  2. 2
    To thin out (a fuel-air mixture): to reduce the fuel flow into the mixture so that there is more air or oxygen.

    "He leaned the mixture in an effort to cause a backfire through the carburetor, the generally accepted method of breaking the ice loose."

  3. 3
    rely on for support wordnet
  4. 4
    To incline in opinion or desire; to conform in conduct; often with to, toward, etc. copulative

    "I’m leaning towards voting Conservative in the next election."

  5. 5
    cause to lean or incline wordnet
Show 6 more definitions
  1. 6
    To rest or rely, for support, comfort, to use as a hard surface for writing, etc.

    "He lean'd not on his fathers but himself."

  2. 7
    to incline or bend from a vertical position wordnet
  3. 8
    To hang outwards.
  4. 9
    cause to lean to the side wordnet
  5. 10
    To press against.

    "Oppreſs'd with Anguiſh, panting, and o'reſpent, / His fainting Limbs against an Oak he leant."

  6. 11
    have a tendency or disposition to do or be something; be inclined wordnet

Etymology

Etymology 1

From Middle English lenen (“to lean”), from Old English hleonian, hlinian (“to lean, recline, lie down, rest”), from Proto-West Germanic *hlinēn, from Proto-Germanic *hlināną (“to lean, incline”), from Proto-Indo-European *ḱley-. Cognate via Proto-Germanic with Middle Dutch leunen (“to lean”), German lehnen (“to lean”); via Proto-Indo-European with climate, cline.

Etymology 2

From Middle English lenen (“to lean”), from Old English hleonian, hlinian (“to lean, recline, lie down, rest”), from Proto-West Germanic *hlinēn, from Proto-Germanic *hlināną (“to lean, incline”), from Proto-Indo-European *ḱley-. Cognate via Proto-Germanic with Middle Dutch leunen (“to lean”), German lehnen (“to lean”); via Proto-Indo-European with climate, cline.

Etymology 3

From Middle English lene (“lean”), from Old English hlǣne (“lean”), (cognate with Low German leen), perhaps from hlǣnan (“to cause to lean (due to hunger or lack of food)”), from Proto-Germanic *hlainijaną (“to cause to lean”). If so, then related to Old English hlinian, hleonian (“to lean”).

Etymology 4

From Middle English lene (“lean”), from Old English hlǣne (“lean”), (cognate with Low German leen), perhaps from hlǣnan (“to cause to lean (due to hunger or lack of food)”), from Proto-Germanic *hlainijaną (“to cause to lean”). If so, then related to Old English hlinian, hleonian (“to lean”).

Etymology 5

From Middle English lene (“lean”), from Old English hlǣne (“lean”), (cognate with Low German leen), perhaps from hlǣnan (“to cause to lean (due to hunger or lack of food)”), from Proto-Germanic *hlainijaną (“to cause to lean”). If so, then related to Old English hlinian, hleonian (“to lean”).

Etymology 6

Probably from the verb to lean (see Etymology 1 above), supposedly because consumption of the intoxicating beverage causes one to lean or sway. Alternatively, from a clipping of gasoline (“an alcoholic beverage made of vodka and energy drink”).

Etymology 7

* As a Scottish Gaelic surname, reduced form of McLean. * As an English surname, from the adjective lean. * As a Chinese surname, from 林 (lín) (see Lin).

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