thin (thinner comparative) (thinnest superlative) (thins 3rd person present) (thinning present participle) (thinned past tense & past participle )
1 adj Something that is thin is much narrower than it is long.
A thin cable carries the signal to a computer..., James's face was thin, finely boned, and sensitive.
2 adj A person or animal that is thin has no extra fat on their body ., (Antonym: fat)
He was a tall, thin man with grey hair...
thinness n-uncount
There was something familiar about him, his fawn raincoat, his thinness, the way he moved.
3 adj Something such as paper or cloth that is thin is flat and has only a very small distance between its two opposite surfaces., (Antonym: thick)
...a small, blue-bound book printed in fine type on thin paper...
thinly adv ADV with v
Peel and thinly slice the onion...
4 adj Liquids that are thin are weak and watery., (Antonym: thick)
The soup was thin and clear, yet mysteriously rich...
5 adj A crowd or audience that is thin does not have many people in it.
The crowd, which had been thin for the first half of the race, had now grown considerably.
thinly adv ADV -ed
The island is thinly populated.
6 adj Thin clothes are made from light cloth and are not warm to wear., (Antonym: thick)
Her gown was thin, and she shivered, partly from cold.
thinly adv ADV adj/-ed
Mrs Brown wrapped the thinly clad man in her fur coat.
7 adj If you describe an argument or explanation as thin, you mean that it is weak and difficult to believe.
(=weak) (Antonym: strong)
However, the evidence is thin and, to some extent, ambiguous...
thinly adv usu ADV -ed, also ADV before v
Much of the speech was a thinly disguised attack on the management of the company.
8 adj If someone's hair is described as thin, they do not have a lot of hair., (Antonym: thick)
She had pale thin yellow hair she pulled back into a bun.
9 verb When you thin something or when it thins, it becomes less crowded because people or things have been removed from it.
It would have been better to have thinned the trees over several winters rather than all at one time... V n
By midnight the crowd had thinned. V
Thin out means the same as thin., phrasal verb
NATO will continue to thin out its forces... V P n (not pron)
When the crowd began to thin out, I realized that most of the food was still there... V P
10 verb To thin a sauce or liquid means to make it weaker and more watery by adding another liquid to it.
It may be necessary to thin the sauce slightly... V n
Thin down means the same as thin., phrasal verb
Thin down your mayonnaise with soured cream or natural yoghurt. V P n (not pron)
11 verb If a man's hair is thinning, it has begun to fall out.
His hair is thinning and his skin has lost all hint of youth. V
→
thin on top
→
top
12 If someone's patience, for example, is wearing thin, they are beginning to become impatient or angry with someone.
wearing thin phrase
Parliament has not yet begun to combat the deepening economic crisis, and public patience is wearing thin.
13 →
on thin ice →
ice →
thin air →
air thin down →
thin 10 thin out →
thin 9
paper-thin , paper thin
If something is paper-thin, it is very thin. adj
Cut the onion into paper-thin slices...
thin-skinned
If you say that someone is thin-skinned, you mean that they are easily upset by criticism or unpleasantness. adj usu v-link ADJ (disapproval)
(=sensitive) (Antonym: thick-skinned)
Some fear he is too thin-skinned to survive the rough-and-tumble of a presidential campaign.
wafer-thin
Wafer-thin means extremely thin and flat. adj ADJ n, v-link ADJ
Cut the fennel into wafer-thin slices.
