fine

FYN/faɪn/

Adjectivefiner, finest

Noun pluralfines

Verbfines, fining, fined

33 meanings of fine

Practice

1
adjectivecolloquial
Acceptable or satisfactory, though not especially good.
The apartment isn't fancy, but it's fine for a short stay.
It's fine with me if you borrow the car this weekend, as long as you fill the tank.
UsageFine with (or by) someone expresses agreement or permission: that's fine with me.
Similarokay, ok
Oppositeunacceptable, unsatisfactory
Note
Praise worn down to a shrug: what is fine here is merely acceptable. Katie Rife's 2016 review of Passengers calls the setting, the music and the lighting all fine. The effect is faint praise, and she needs "better than fine" to lift one performance out of the pile.
Checked 1 Nov 2026 · 3 facts
Katie Rife published the Passengers review in 2016. avclub.com
The review calls the setting, music and lighting fine. avclub.com
The review uses “better than fine” for Lawrence’s performance. avclub.com
2
high qualityadjective
Of high quality; excellent, well made, or skillfully and delicately done.
The museum displays fine porcelain from the Ming dynasty.
Only the finest ingredients go into this chocolate.
UsageBefore a noun it praises, fine wine, a fine example; after is, it usually just means acceptable.
Similarexcellent, exquisite, superb, choice
Oppositepoor, inferior, shoddy, coarse
Note
It praises people as easily as things, as in Emerson Hough's "A fine man, that Dunwody" (1910).
Checked 1 Nov 2026 · 2 facts
The quoted words occur in Hough’s The Purchase Price; the fictional speaker is Captain Carlisle. gutenberg.org
The book containing the quotation was published in 1910. gutenberg.org
3
money penaltynouncountable
A sum of money charged as a penalty for breaking a law or rule.
The court imposed a heavy fine for the violation.
Speeding fines have increased across the state.
UsageYou pay, get or face a fine, and a court imposes one: a fine for speeding.
Similarpenalty, ticket, forfeit
4
adverb
In a good, pleasant, or agreeable way.
The new recruits performed fine under pressure.
We get along just fine these days.
UsageMostly after the verb in speech: doing fine, works fine, get along just fine.
Similarokay, alright
Oppositebadly, poorly
5
verbtransitive
To charge someone a sum of money as a penalty for breaking a law or rule.
The city will fine residents who fail to clear snow from their sidewalks.
Officials fined the company for polluting the river.
UsageOften passive, with the amount straight after: she was fined $500 for speeding.
Similarpenalize, punish, sanction, charge, ticket
6
not coarseadjective
Made of very small particles, or very thin or narrow, as in fine sand, fine thread, or fine hair.
Grind the coffee into a fine powder for espresso.
A fine mist settled over the valley at dawn.
Similarthin, slender, delicate
Oppositecoarse, thick
7
adjective
Subtle and delicately balanced, requiring careful discrimination to perceive.
There's a fine distinction between confidence and arrogance.
Lawyers argued over the fine difference between borrowing an idea and stealing it.
UsageSet phrases: a fine line between two things, and the finer points of a subject.
Similarsubtle, delicate, thin
Oppositecrude, broad, obvious
8
reluctant yesinterjection
Used to express agreement, often grudgingly.
Fine, I'll admit you were right.
Fine. Let's leave at noon then.
UsageSaid alone in a flat voice, Fine. often sounds annoyed. That's fine by me usually sounds more willing.
Similarokay, alright, right, sure
9
adjective
In good health or feeling all right; often said to reassure others or end questions, even when it is not true.
Asked how the divorce was going, he shrugged and said he was fine.
She insisted she was fine, hoping to head off any further questions.
UsageUsually after a verb or alone as a reply: I'm fine, fine, thanks. Before a noun, a fine man means a good man.
Similarokay, alright, good, well
10
adjust slightlyverbtransitive
To change something through small, gradual degrees rather than in one large adjustment.
I often sate at home On evenings, watching how they fined themselves With gradual conscience to a perfect night.
1856, Elizabeth Barrett Browning, Aurora Leigh
to fine down a ship's lines, i.e. to diminish her lines gradually
Similaradjust, tweak, refine, calibrate
Note
Gradual change is the point here: something passes by fine steps from one state into another. Elizabeth Barrett Browning (1856) uses it reflexively of evenings that "fined themselves / With gradual conscience to a perfect night." In her line, the light thins step by step into dark.
Checked 31 Oct 2026 · 4 facts
Elizabeth Barrett Browning wrote the quoted lines, which occur in Book VII of Aurora Leigh. gutenberg.org
The work was actually published in 1856. assets.cambridge.org
The quotation is exact, with reflexive 'fined themselves' referring to evenings. en.wikisource.org
The passage depicts evening gradually becoming night. en.wikisource.org

Less common meanings

11
sunnyadjective
Of weather, sunny and without rain.
The forecast promises fine weather for the weekend.
They waited for a fine morning to set out on the hike.
Similarsunny, fair, clear, bright, dry
Oppositewet, rainy, stormy, dull
12
attractiveadjectivecolloquial
Good-looking and physically attractive.
Everyone agreed the new lifeguard was incredibly fine.
She walked in looking fine, and the whole room noticed.
Similarhot, gorgeous, attractive, sexy
Oppositeugly, unattractive
13
bad (ironic)adjectiveironic
Used ironically to mean impressively bad, inappropriate, or unsatisfactory.
Like calling a downpour "lovely weather" when you're soaked to the skin.
A fine time to tell me the car has no gas.
You've made a fine job of this. Everything's broken.
Similarnice, pretty, great, lovely
Note
The adjective sits before a noun, and the sarcasm lives in the tone. Dorothy Fields's lyric "A Fine Romance" for Swing Time (1936) carries the whole joke: a romance with no kisses. Read flatly, it would be the word of praise, so the setting has to carry the irony.
Checked 1 Nov 2026 · 4 facts
Dorothy Fields wrote the lyrics of A Fine Romance for Swing Time. en.wikipedia.org
Dorothy Fields is correctly credited as the lyricist. levysheetmusic.mse.jhu.edu
Swing Time was released in 1936. catalog.afi.com
The lyric describes a romance without kisses, supporting the ironic reading. tpr.org
14
pure metaladjective
Containing a specified proportion of pure metal, as in gold or silver.
The bar was certified as 24-karat fine gold.
Sterling silver is less fine than pure silver.
Similarpure, unalloyed, refined
Oppositeimpure, alloyed
Note
Purity is stated as a fraction placed in front of the adjective: coins nine tenths fine are nine parts in ten pure metal. In this construction fine follows its number and usually comes after the noun, unlike the word of praise, which stands before it. The figure carries the meaning; fine itself only signals here that a proportion is being given.
Checked 30 Oct 2026 · 2 facts
Nine tenths fine means nine parts pure metal in ten parts total, by weight. ngccoin.com
Fine can also mean pure without an accompanying purity figure, as in fine gold. en.wikipedia.org
15
noun
Material made up of very small particles, or the particles themselves.
Heavy rain washed the fines out of the gravel road, leaving only loose stones behind.
The mill separates the coarse grains from the fines.
Similardust, silt, powder
Note
Usually plural, and usually technical: fines are the small particles sifted or washed out of soil, silt or gravel. The same spelling is the plural of the penalty, which is a separate word. Context does the sorting: fines filtered out of soil are not fines paid to a court.
Checked 30 Oct 2026 · 3 facts
Fines include small soil particles that pass through a sieve. en.wiktionary.org
Fines can be separated from gravel by washing. fhwa.dot.gov
The penalty noun fine also has the plural fines and is distinct from the particle noun. en.wiktionary.org
16
SayFEE-nayUS/ˈfineɪ/UK/ˈfiːneɪ/
end (music)nouncountable
In music, the end of a piece, or the word written in a score to mark where it ends, often after a repeated section.
After the repeat, the violinist played until she saw the fine and lifted her bow.
The composer placed the fine midway down the page, right where the music truly ends.
Note
The Italian word for "end" is printed in a score to show where to stop. It matters most when the piece ends partway down the page. After a repeat such as da capo sends the player back, the performer plays on to the marking and stops, even though more measures are printed after it. Musicians speak of playing on to the fine.
Checked 30 Oct 2026 · 3 facts
Fine is Italian for end and marks the stopping point in a score. lilypond.org
Fine identifies the ending when it occurs before the written end of the music. lilypond.org
After a da capo return, the performer stops at Fine even if further measures follow in the score. en.wikipedia.org
17
filter (drinks)verbtransitive
To clarify wine or beer by adding a substance, such as isinglass or egg white, that makes suspended particles settle out.
Like straining stock through cheesecloth so the broth pours out clear instead of murky.
The vintners fine each batch of wine before it goes into the barrel.
Brewers fined the cloudy ale until it ran perfectly clear.
Similarclarify, clear, filter
18
purifyverbtransitive
To make something finer, purer, or less coarse, or to become so.
Over several drafts, the architect continued to fine down the design, stripping away every detail that did not earn its place.
In this cliff, each layer of rock fines upward, from coarse sand at the bottom to mud at the top.
Similarrefine, purify
Oppositecoarsen
Note
The adjective made into a verb: to fine something is to make it fine, and especially to make it pure. To fine gold is to drive out its impurities. Thomas Hobbes, writing in 1666, pairs the plain verb with its prefixed form: law "fined and refined" by learned men. The past form fined matches that of the penalty verb, so the object usually shows which is meant.
Checked 30 Oct 2026 · 3 facts
The purifying verb belongs to the adjective fine and means to make fine or pure. en.wikisource.org
Hobbes wrote the dialogue containing the quotation in 1666; this is its composition date, not its publication date. assets.cambridge.org
Hobbes's dialogue contains the phrase about law being fined and refined by learned men. The speaker is the Lawyer, quoting Sir Edward Coke. nlnrac.org
19
cricket angleadjective
In cricket, positioned behind the batsman and at a small angle to the line between the wickets.
The captain stationed a fielder at a fine angle behind the batsman to cut off the deflection.
With edges flying behind the wicket all morning, the captain moved third man a little finer.
Oppositesquare
Note
Cricket uses fine for angles that hug the line of the wickets behind the batsman. It names fielding positions such as fine leg, as when a ball is tickled "down to fine leg" for four. Because the word measures an angle, it compares naturally: a finer position lies closer to straight behind the batsman.
Checked 30 Oct 2026 · 4 facts
In cricket, fine describes a position behind the batsman at a small angle to the line between the wickets. en.wiktionary.org
Fine leg is a fielding position, and 'down to fine leg' occurs in the supplied cricket example about scoring four. en.wiktionary.org
A shot down to fine leg can score four. icc-cricket.com
A finer fielding position behind the batsman is closer to the extended line through the stumps. en.wikipedia.org
20
adjective
A collectible grade ranking between very good and very fine, and below mint condition.
21
verbrare
To pay a fine, a sum of money owed to an authority, whether as a penalty or as the price of a favor.
Men fined for the king's good will; or that he would remit his anger; women fined for leave to marry.
1818, Henry Hallam, View of the State of Europe during the Middle Ages
22
noun
A French brandy, particularly the variety known as fine champagne cognac.
23
adverb
In billiards, so that the cue ball only grazes the edge of the object ball, sending it off at a sharp angle while the cue ball runs on almost straight.
24
adjectiveobsolete
Gaudy or overly ornate, with too much decoration.
25
adverbdated
In a delicate, polished, or elegant manner.
26
verbdated
To grow smaller or thinner little by little, usually followed by down, away, or off.
27
nounobsolete
A lump sum a tenant pays when a lease begins, in return for which the regular rent is kept low or only token.
28
noun
A penalty drink that must be downed at a meal or in a drinking game once it is announced that whoever did some particular, often outrageous, thing will be punished.
29
verbobsolete
To come to an end, or bring something to completion.
30
verbobsolete
To bring something to a halt or put an end to it.
31
nounobsolete
The close or final point of something, its ending or dying out.
Is this the fine of his fines?
c. 1599, William Shakespeare, “The Tragedie of Hamlet, Prince of Denmarke”
32
noun
A binding legal settlement of a dispute about property or rent, made for example between a feudal lord and a tenant.
33
nounUK
A payment made in exchange for a right or privilege, such as being admitted to a copyhold or granted or renewing a lease.

More uses

fine artspainting, sculpture, music and other arts made for beauty

Practice

Can you tell the meanings of fine apart? Answer 3 quick questions from this page, or write your own sentence and AI will check it.

Origins

Meanings 1–2, 4, 6–15, 17–19

The word's origin is obscure, but it probably comes from the Latin verb fīnīre, meaning "to finish," or the noun fīnis, meaning "boundary, limit, end." It passed into Old French as fin ("fine, minute, exact") and then into Middle English as fin, and the same sense of fine or thin appeared in several other Romance languages too. Fino is a doublet.

Checked 1 Nov 2026 · 6 facts

The origin is obscure, but derivation from Latin fīnīre or fīnis is probable. en.wiktionary.org
Latin fīnīre means "to finish." en.wiktionary.org
Latin fīnis is a noun meaning boundary, limit, or end. en.wiktionary.org
English fine came through Old French fin, meaning fine, minute, or exact, and Middle English fin. en.wiktionary.org
Related senses of fine or thin developed in several other Romance languages. en.wiktionary.org
English fino is a doublet of fine. en.wiktionary.org

Meanings 3, 5

Medieval Latin fīnis, meaning "a payment in settlement or tax," gave Old French fin, which became Middle English fyn. Fin and finis are doublets of this word.

Checked 1 Nov 2026 · 3 facts

Medieval Latin fīnis meant a payment in settlement or tax. en.wiktionary.org
Old French fin came from Medieval Latin fīnis and became Middle English fyn, the ancestor of English fine. en.wiktionary.org
Fin and finis are doublets of fine. en.wiktionary.org

Meaning 16

English took this word from Italian, where fine means "end." French fin is related, and fin and finis are doublets.

Checked 1 Nov 2026 · 4 facts

English borrowed musical fine from Italian. en.wiktionary.org
Italian fine means end. en.wiktionary.org
French fin is etymologically related. en.wiktionary.org
The English words fin and finis are doublets. en.wiktionary.org