What does "lean" mean?
An inclination away from the vertical.
Lean
/liːn/ adj, name, noun, verb, slang
adj, name, noun, verb, slang ·Very common ·Middle school level
Meaning at a glance
- Primary sense: An inclination away from the vertical.
- Grammar: lean is listed as adj, name, noun, verb, slang.
- Nearest alternatives: tilt, abstemious, acquiesce, agree.
- Useful contrasts: abdominous, adipose, beefiest.
- Usage evidence: If you want to avoid cholesterol, eat lean meat with no fat.
How to use "lean"
- Start with the primary definition, then check the part of speech before placing the word in a sentence.
- Compare nearby synonyms to make sure "lean" carries the exact meaning, tone, and strength you need.
- Use the example sentence as a context check. If your sentence uses the word differently, confirm that the grammar still fits.
Meaning check
- Does the word fit the sentence's grammar?
- Does it match the intended tone rather than only the dictionary definition?
- Would a simpler synonym be clearer for the reader?
- Is there enough surrounding context to prevent ambiguity?
Source and review context
This entry combines structured lexical data with WordToolSet review checks. Definitions, examples, synonyms, and usage notes may come from different source tables, so the page is designed to show evidence from more than one angle before you rely on "lean" in a final draft.
If a word has several senses, prefer the sense that matches your sentence's grammar and surrounding context. A correct definition can still be the wrong choice when the sentence needs a different register, emphasis, or level of specificity.
Before you rely on this definition
Read the first definition as a starting point, then check the example, synonyms, and part of speech before treating "lean" as the right word for your sentence.
If your draft is formal, technical, persuasive, or sensitive, compare "lean" with a nearby alternative so the final choice matches both meaning and reader expectation.
Compare nearby meanings
- Use synonyms when you need a softer, stronger, simpler, or more specific word.
- Use antonyms to check the boundary of the meaning and avoid accidental contrast.
- Use the example sentence to confirm the word behaves naturally in context.
- Keep the original wording when a replacement adds complexity without improving precision.
Definition decision workflow
1. Identify the role
Check whether "lean" is acting as adj, name, noun, verb, slang in your sentence. A definition is only useful when the grammar matches the way the word is being used.
2. Test the nearest option
Compare it with "tilt" and other nearby choices to see whether the sentence needs a softer, stronger, or more familiar word.
3. Confirm with context
Use the example sentence below as an evidence check, then read your own sentence out loud to catch tone or rhythm problems.
Review note: Definition pages are checked for source coverage, sentence evidence, synonym support, and editorial insight before they are treated as approval-ready pages. If the evidence is too thin, the page remains available to users but is kept out of the approval-facing indexed inventory.
Final meaning check
Before publishing a sentence with "lean", ask whether the word helps the reader understand the idea faster. A precise word should reduce confusion, not simply make the sentence look more polished.
When the definition, synonym evidence, and example context point in the same direction, the word is usually a safer choice. When they conflict, revise the sentence or choose a clearer alternative.
Definitions
Noun
- 1 An inclination away from the vertical.
"The trees had various leans toward gaps in the canopy."
- 2 Meat with no fat on it. uncountable
"Jack Sprat would eat no fat, / His wife would eat no lean."
- 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 the property possessed by a line or surface that departs from the vertical wordnet
- 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 To incline, deviate, or bend, from a vertical position; to be in a position thus inclining or deviating. intransitive
"a leaning column"
- 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 rely on for support wordnet
- 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 cause to lean or incline wordnet
Show 6 more definitions
- 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."
- 7 to incline or bend from a vertical position wordnet
- 8 To hang outwards.
- 9 cause to lean to the side wordnet
- 10 To press against.
"Oppreſs'd with Anguiſh, panting, and o'reſpent, / His fainting Limbs against an Oak he leant."
- 11 have a tendency or disposition to do or be something; be inclined wordnet
Adjective
- 1 Slim; not fleshy.
"They will now dedicate several hours at the gym every day to be leaner and stronger."
- 2 Having little fat.
"lean steak cuts"
- 3 Having little extra or little to spare; scanty; meagre.
"a lean budget"
- 4 Having a low proportion or concentration of a desired substance or ingredient.
"A lean ore hardly worth mining."
- 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
- 6 Efficient, economic, frugal, agile, slimmed-down; pertaining to the modern industrial principles of "lean manufacturing".
"lean management"
Adjective
- 1 lacking excess flesh wordnet
- 2 not profitable or prosperous wordnet
- 3 lacking in mineral content or combustible material wordnet
- 4 containing little excess wordnet
Proper Noun
- 1 A surname.
Antonyms
Example
"If you want to avoid cholesterol, eat lean meat with no fat."
Common questions
What is a synonym for "lean"?
Common synonyms include: tilt, abstemious, acquiesce, agree, angle, angular.
How do you use "lean" in a sentence?
If you want to avoid cholesterol, eat lean meat with no fat.
How do you pronounce "lean"?
Pronounced /liːn/.
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 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 3
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 4
* 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).