Thin

/θɪn/ adj, adv, noun, verb

adj, adv, noun, verb ·Top 500 ·Elementary level

Meaning at a glance

  • Primary sense: A loss or tearing of paper from the back of a stamp, although not sufficient to create a complete hole.
  • Grammar: thin is listed as adj, adv, noun, verb.
  • Nearest alternatives: flimsy, lean, slender, sparse.
  • Useful contrasts: broad, circular, deep.
  • Usage evidence: The gold was beaten into thin plates.

How to use "thin"

  1. Start with the primary definition, then check the part of speech before placing the word in a sentence.
  2. Compare nearby synonyms to make sure "thin" carries the exact meaning, tone, and strength you need.
  3. 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 "thin" 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 "thin" as the right word for your sentence.

If your draft is formal, technical, persuasive, or sensitive, compare "thin" 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 "thin" is acting as adj, adv, noun, verb 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 "flimsy" 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 "thin", 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. 1
    A loss or tearing of paper from the back of a stamp, although not sufficient to create a complete hole.
  2. 2
    Any food produced or served in thin slices.

    "chocolate mint thins"

Verb
  1. 1
    To make thin or thinner. transitive

    "Exhausted fathers thinned the blood, You curse the legacy of pain; Darling of an infected brood, You feel disaster climb the vein."

  2. 2
    take off weight wordnet
  3. 3
    To become thin or thinner. intransitive

    "The crowds thinned after the procession had passed: there was nothing more to see."

  4. 4
    lessen the strength or flavor of a solution or mixture wordnet
  5. 5
    To dilute.
Show 3 more definitions
  1. 6
    make thin or thinner wordnet
  2. 7
    To remove some plants or parts of plants in order to improve the growth of what remains.

    "So floriferous are Asian pears, and the tree so laden with young fruit, that as the tree approaches maturity it is worth considering thinning the fruit (I can't quite bring myself to thin the flowers) so as to neither overburden the tree for this year nor tire it for the next. Thinning early in the season, while the fruit is small, is ideal."

  3. 8
    lose thickness; become thin or thinner wordnet
Adjective
  1. 1
    Having little thickness or extent from one surface to its opposite.

    "thin plate of metal; thin paper; thin board; thin covering"

  2. 2
    Very narrow in all diameters; having a cross section that is small in all directions.

    "thin wire; thin string"

  3. 3
    Having little body fat or flesh; slim; slender; lean; gaunt.

    "thin person"

  4. 4
    Of low viscosity or low specific gravity.

    "Water is thinner than honey."

  5. 5
    Scarce; not close, crowded, or numerous; not filling the space.

    "The trees of a forest are thin; the corn or grass is thin."

Show 5 more definitions
  1. 6
    Describing a poorly played golf shot where the ball is struck by the bottom part of the club head. See fat, shank, toe.
  2. 7
    Lacking body or volume; small; feeble; not full.

    "a thin, tight-lipped smile"

  3. 8
    Slight; small; slender; flimsy; superficial; inadequate; not sufficient for a covering.

    "a thin disguise"

  4. 9
    Of a route: relatively little used.

    "In short, we previously found that thin routes benefit from an increase in competition in the Spanish airline market when considering routes that were monopoly routes in 2001."

  5. 10
    Poor; scanty; without money or success.

    "Like their friends the "draggers," the "hoisters" or shoplifters are having a thin time these days, […]"

Adjective
  1. 1
    not dense wordnet
  2. 2
    lacking excess flesh wordnet
  3. 3
    (of sound) lacking resonance or volume wordnet
  4. 4
    lacking substance or significance wordnet
  5. 5
    lacking spirit or sincere effort wordnet
Show 3 more definitions
  1. 6
    of relatively small extent from one surface to the opposite or in cross section wordnet
  2. 7
    relatively thin in consistency or low in density; not viscous wordnet
  3. 8
    very narrow wordnet
Adverb
  1. 1
    Not thickly or closely; in a scattered state.

    "seed sown thin"

Adverb
  1. 1
    without viscosity wordnet

Synonyms

All synonyms
flimsyleanslendersparsea bit thicka bit thin

Example

"The gold was beaten into thin plates."

Common questions

What does "thin" mean?

A loss or tearing of paper from the back of a stamp, although not sufficient to create a complete hole.

What is a synonym for "thin"?

Common synonyms include: flimsy, lean, slender, sparse, a bit thick, a bit thin.

How do you use "thin" in a sentence?

The gold was beaten into thin plates.

How do you pronounce "thin"?

Pronounced /θɪn/.

Etymology

From Middle English thinne, thünne, thenne, from Old English þynne, from Proto-West Germanic *þunnī, from Proto-Germanic *þunnuz (“thin”) – compare *þanjaną (“to stretch, spread out”) – from Proto-Indo-European *ténh₂us (“thin”), from *ten- (“to stretch”). Cognate with German dünn, Dutch dun, West Frisian tin, Icelandic þunnur, Danish tynd, Swedish tunn, Latin tenuis, Irish tanaí, Welsh tenau, Latvian tievs, Polish cienki, Russian тонкий (tonkij), Sanskrit तनु (tanú, “thin”), Persian تنگ (tang, “narrow”). Doublet of tenuis. Also related to tenuous.

More for "thin"

Synonyms

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