sin
- 1A wrong act that breaks the rules of a religion or goes against what God wants.
Many religions teach that stealing is a sin.
She prayed and asked God to forgive her sins.
UsageSay commit a sin, or ask God to forgive your sins.
Similartransgression, wrongdoing
Note
- 2The state of being wicked or doing evil things.
The old story tells of a town full of sin.
He wanted to turn away from a life of sin.
UsageSay a life of sin.
Similarwickedness, evil, vice, immorality, iniquity
Oppositevirtue, righteousness, goodness
- 3Something wrong or a bad mistake, not in a religious sense, such as the worst fault in a film.
His biggest sin was taking credit for his sister's work.
The company's sin was hiding the danger from its customers.
UsageSay his biggest sin was lying.
Similaroffense, wrong, misdeed, fault, transgression
Note
- 4To do something wrong that goes against God, a religion's rules, or what is right.
We all sin sometimes, but we can say sorry and try again.
He knew he had sinned, so he went to talk to the priest.
UsageSay we all sin. The past is sinned.
Similartransgress, err
Less common meanings
- 5A short way to write sine, a math function used with angles.
On my calculator, sin 30 gives 0.5 when it is set to degrees.
In a right triangle, sin A is the side opposite angle A divided by the longest side.
UsageSay it as sine.
Note
- 6Short for sin bin: the place where a player must sit out for a while after breaking a rule.
UsageSay he was in the sin.
Note
- 7
- 8Short for social insurance number: a number the Canadian government gives eligible people for work, taxes and benefits.
You need to give your SIN when you start a new job.
Never tell your SIN to a stranger on the phone.
Note
- 9Something offered to God to make up for people's sins.
Note
- 10A very wicked person who seems to be evil in human form.
Note
- 11SaySEENUS/sin/UK/siːn/The Hebrew letter shin with a dot on its top left (שׂ), which is said like s.
The Hebrew word for joy starts with a sin.
In Hebrew class, she learned to write a sin with a dot on the left.
Note
- 12SaySEENUS/sin/UK/siːn/One of the letters of the Arabic alphabet, written س.
The Arabic word for peace, salam, starts with a sin.
On the board, the teacher drew a sin with its three small teeth.
- 13A desert in the Bible, between Elim and Mount Sinai.
- 14Short for Sinaloa: a state in northwestern Mexico, written this way in addresses.
Showing meanings only.
Practice
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Origins
It comes from the Old English word synn, meaning sin. An early ancestor meant "being" or "true", as in being truly guilty of a charge.
Checked 1 Nov 2026 · 2 facts
- Sin comes from Old English synn, meaning sin. en.wiktionary.org
- An earlier ancestor meant being or true, with the implication of being truly guilty of an accusation or charge. en.wikipedia.org
It is a changed form of shin.
Checked 1 Nov 2026 · 1 fact
- Sin, the letter name, is a changed form of shin. en.wiktionary.org
From the Akkadian name of an ancient moon god.
Checked 3 Nov 2026 · 2 facts
- Sin, the deity's name in English, comes from Akkadian Sîn. en.wiktionary.org
- Sin was an ancient moon god known by that name in Akkadian. en.wikipedia.org
A short form of Latin sinus, the source of the word sine.
Checked 3 Nov 2026 · 2 facts
- The mathematical symbol sin is a short form of Latin sinus. en.wiktionary.org
- Latin sinus is the source of the English word sine. en.wiktionary.org