# thin

Pronunciation: say "THIN" /θɪn/

## Adjective

1. Having little thickness or width; having opposite surfaces or sides close together, as of a slice, a wall, a wire, or a line.
   - Simple: Not thick. With sides or surfaces close together, like a thin slice, wall, wire, or needle.
   - _The walls were so thin that we could hear every conversation next door._
   - _A thin layer of dust covered the old books on the top shelf._
2. Lean or slender in build, lacking much fat or flesh, sometimes to the point of gauntness.
   - Simple: Having very little body fat and not much flesh.
   - _Years of hard labor had left her arms thin and wiry._
   - _The runners were lean and thin after months of training._
3. Scarce or sparse; not dense, crowded, or numerous, as of hair, a crowd, an audience, or traffic on a route.
   - Simple: Few in number or spread out. Not crowded or thick, like thin hair or a thin crowd.
   - _Attendance was thin on the rainy weekday afternoon._
   - _The grass was thin and patchy across the dry field._
5. Slight, flimsy, or superficial; inadequate, and not enough to cover or convince.
   - Simple: So slight or weak that it is not enough, like a flimsy excuse or a poor cover.
   - _The whole defense rested on a thin set of facts._
   - _The report's conclusions seemed thin once you saw how little data supported them._
6. Lacking body, volume, or strength; feeble, faint, or not full.
   - Simple: Weak or watery, without much fullness or strength.
   - _His thin tenor barely carried across the crowded hall._
   - _A thin, watery light came through the clouds in the late afternoon._
7. Of a liquid, having low viscosity; runny and flowing easily rather than thick.
   - Simple: Of a liquid, runny and flowing easily instead of thick.
   - _The oil was thin enough to seep through the tiny cracks._
   - _A thin broth simmered gently on the back of the stove._
10. Poor or scanty; lacking money or success.
   - Simple: Having little money or success, and not doing well.
   - _The family endured thin years all through the long drought._
   - _Trade was thin that season, and few coins changed hands._

## Verb

4. To become thinner, sparser, or less dense over time.
   - Simple: To become less thick or less crowded.
   - _The crowd thinned quickly once the music stopped._
   - _Toward dawn the clouds thin and break apart over the hills._
8. To make something less thick, especially to make a liquid runnier or weaker by adding water or another fluid.
   - Simple: To make something less thick, often by adding water or another liquid to it.
   - _Bakers thin the batter until it pours smoothly from the jug._
   - _The carpenter thinned the edge of the door with a plane so it would close properly._
9. To remove some of the plants, shoots, flowers, or young fruits in a group so that those remaining have more space and grow better.
   - Simple: To take away some young plants or fruits so the rest have room to grow well.
   - _Orchard workers thin the young apples to produce larger fruit at harvest._
   - _Thin the lettuce rows once the first sprouts appear._

## Adverb

11. In a scattered way; not thickly or closely spaced.
   - Simple: In a way that is spread out, with wide spaces in between.
   - _The farmer sowed the wheat thin to save on seed._
   - _Plant the carrot seeds thin so each root has room to grow._

## Noun

12. Something to eat that is made in thin slices or served that way.
   - Simple: A food made or served in very thin slices, like a cracker or chip.
   - _Each guest took a single chocolate thin from the tray._
   - _The caterer passed around delicate cheese thins before dinner._

## Other meanings

- (adjective) Of a golf shot: struck with the bottom part of the club head, so the ball flies low and is poorly controlled.
- (noun) On the back of a stamp, an area where paper has been lost or torn away without forming a complete hole.

## Origin

From Middle English thinne, from Old English þynne, from Proto-Germanic *þunnuz ("thin"), ultimately from a Proto-Indo-European root meaning "to stretch". It is cognate with German dünn, Dutch dun, Latin tenuis, and Sanskrit तनु (tanú, "thin"), and is a doublet of tenuis.

Source: DictionaryAI, https://dictionaryai.com/define/thin (written from Wiktionary data, CC BY-SA 4.0: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/).