sin

¹ American  

abbreviation

Trigonometry.

1. sine.

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Sin ² American  

[seen] / sin /

noun

1. the Akkadian god of the moon: the counterpart of the Sumerian Nanna.

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sīn ³ American  

[seen] / sin /

noun

1. the 12th letter of the Arabic alphabet.

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sin ⁴ American  

[seen] / sin /

noun

1. the 22nd letter of the Hebrew alphabet.

2. the consonant sound represented by this letter.

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sin ⁵ American  

[sin] / sɪn /

noun

1. transgression of divine law.

   the sin of Adam.

   Synonyms:

   violation, trespass, misdeed

2. any act regarded as such a transgression, especially a willful or deliberate violation of some religious or moral principle.

   Synonyms:

   wickedness, wrong

3. any reprehensible or regrettable action, behavior, lapse, etc.; great fault or offense.

   It's a sin to waste time.

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verb (used without object)

sinned, sinning

1. to commit a sinful act.

   Synonyms:

   trespass, transgress

2. to offend against a principle, standard, etc.

verb (used with object)

sinned, sinning

1. to commit or perform sinfully.

   He sinned his crimes without compunction.

2. to bring, drive, etc., by sinning.

   He sinned his soul to perdition.

SIN ¹ British  

abbreviation

1. social insurance number

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sin ² British  

/ sɪn /

noun

1. theol

   1. transgression of God's known will or any principle or law regarded as embodying this

   2. the condition of estrangement from God arising from such transgression See also actual sin mortal sin original sin venial sin

2. any serious offence, as against a religious or moral principle

3. any offence against a principle or standard

4. informal (of an unmarried couple) to live together

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verb

1. theol to commit a sin

2. (usually foll by against) to commit an offence (against a person, principle, etc)

sin ³ British  

/ sɪn /

preposition

1. a Scot dialect word for since

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sin ⁴ British  

/ saɪn /

abbreviation

1. sine

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sin ⁵ British  

/ siːn /

noun

1. a variant of shin, the 21st letter in the Hebrew alphabet (שׂ), transliterated as S See shin 2

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sin Scientific  

1. Abbreviation of sine

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sin Idioms  

1. see live in sin; more sinned against than sinning; multitude of sins; ugly as sin; wages of sin.

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Related Words

See crime.

Other Word Forms

• sinlike adjective
• sinner noun
• sinningly adverb
• sinningness noun
• unsinning adjective

Etymology

Origin of sīn¹

From Arabic

Origin of sin¹

First recorded in 1895–1900; from Hebrew śīn

Origin of sin¹

First recorded before 900; Middle English noun sinne, sin(e), sen(ne), Old English syn(n) “moral or religious offense, misdeed”; akin to German Sünde, Old Norse synd, Latin sōns (inflectional stem sont- ) “guilty,” literally “that man being the one”; the verb is derivative of the noun; the Germanic and Latin forms all being present participle forms of the root es- “to be”; am ( def. )

Example Sentences

“Throw away that skirt. It is a talent, to learn to dress like yourself. Beauty is overrated, but it is not a sin.”

From Literature

It’s not the sins of the father that will be visited upon the son.

From Los Angeles Times

The rap on this year’s pack of gubernatorial hopefuls is they’re a collective bore, as though the lack of A-list sizzle and failure to throw off sparks is some kind of mortal sin.

From Los Angeles Times

Had he provided more points of access like his quote from the 1970s rock star Patti Smith—“Jesus died for somebody’s sins . . . but not mine”—his book might be more approachable than it is.

From The Wall Street Journal

Boone is responsible for tremendous environmental harm but remains unrepentant, even as other apparitions materialize seeking to shame him into confessing his sins.

From The Wall Street Journal

Related Words

• crime
• error
• evil
• fault
• guilt
• immorality
• lust
• misdeed
• offense
• shortcoming
• transgression
• violation
• wrong
• wrongdoing