sin
noun
transgression of divine law.
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sin
1 American
[sin]
/ sɪn /
noun
-
transgression of divine law.
the sin of Adam.
-
any act regarded as such a transgression, especially a willful or deliberate violation of some religious or moral principle.
- Synonyms:
- wickedness, wrong
-
any reprehensible or regrettable action, behavior, lapse, etc.; great fault or offense.
It's a sin to waste time.
verb (used without object)
-
sins,
present (3rd person singular)
-
sinned,
past participle, past
-
sinning
present participle
-
to commit a sinful act.
- Synonyms:
- trespass, transgress
-
to offend against a principle, standard, etc.
verb (used with object)
-
sins,
present (3rd person singular)
-
sinned,
past participle, past
-
sinning
present participle
-
to commit or perform sinfully.
He sinned his crimes without compunction.
-
to bring, drive, etc., by sinning.
He sinned his soul to perdition.
sin
2
American
[seen]
/ sin /
noun
-
the 22nd letter of the Hebrew alphabet.
-
the consonant sound represented by this letter.
sin
3
American
abbreviation
Trigonometry.
sīn
4
American
[seen]
/ sin /
noun
Sin
5
American
[seen]
/ sin /
noun
SIN
1
British
abbreviation
sin
2
British
/ sɪn /
noun
-
theol
-
transgression of God's known will or any principle or law regarded as embodying this
-
the condition of estrangement from God arising from such transgression See also actual sin mortal sin original sin venial sin
-
-
any serious offence, as against a religious or moral principle
-
any offence against a principle or standard
-
informal (of an unmarried couple) to live together
verb
-
theol to commit a sin
-
(usually foll by against) to commit an offence (against a person, principle, etc)
sin
3
British
/ sɪn /
preposition
sin
4
British
/ saɪn /
abbreviation
sin
5
British
/ siːn /
noun
sin
Scientific
sin
Idioms
Synonym Usage
See crime.
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
-
sinsimple
-
sinssimple
-
have sinnedperfect
-
has sinnedperfect
-
am sinningprogressive
-
are sinningprogressive
-
is sinningprogressive
-
have been sinningperfect progressive
-
has been sinningperfect progressive
Past
-
sinnedsimple
-
had sinnedperfect
-
was sinningprogressive
-
were sinningprogressive
-
had been sinningperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
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”; see origin at am ( def. )
Origin of sin2
First recorded in 1895–1900; from Hebrew śīn
Origin of sīn4
From Arabic
Explanation
You might not want to be the one at the party who takes the last piece of cake, but then again, it would be a sin to let it sit there, uneaten. A sin is a deeply regrettable action. The most common definition of sin is religious: it's an immoral act against God or divine law. Any serious offense, even if it's not religious, can be called a sin, and so can something less serious if you're talking about it in a joking way, as in, "You've got to buy those shoes — it would be an absolute sin not to." In math, sin is the abbreviation of sine, the trigonometric function.
Vocabulary lists containing sin
"We Real Cool" by Gwendolyn Brooks
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"The New England Primer"
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
See Examples For:
I wrote a piece for the Atlantic in which I said, “The original sin of AI is granting chatbots the use of the first person.”
From Slate ● Sep. 29, 2026
Some believe turning up with an iced matcha latte in hand is a cardinal sin.
From BBC ● Sep. 25, 2026
But he shouldn’t be let off so easy, because he committed another sin that too many Angelenos are guilty of:
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 18, 2026
In White’s eyes, however, allowing financial bubbles to form and then pop is central banking’s original sin.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 21, 2026
“If you commit this sin to save a life, have you destroyed the world, or have you saved it?”
From Anya and the Dragon by Sofiya Pasternack
The present participle with sīn is sometimes used as in English, see ‘Arme Heinrich,’ l. 24.
From A Middle High German Primer Third Edition by Joseph Wright
I, sink, 76. sigenunft, sf. victory. sīhte, aj. shallow. silber, sn. silver. sim = si im. sin, sm. sense, mind, feeling; courage. sīn, pr. his; sīn sëlbes, of himself, 5, 11, 67.
From A Middle High German Primer Third Edition by Joseph Wright
Sī koment underwīlen her die baȥ dā heime möhten sīn.
From A Middle High German Primer Third Edition by Joseph Wright
Sine, sīn, n. a straight line drawn from one extremity of an arc perpendicular to the diameter that passes through the other extremity.
From Chambers's Twentieth Century Dictionary (part 4 of 4: S-Z and supplements) by Various
Dō brāhte man die vrouwen dā si in ligen vant. si huop sīn schœne houbet mit ir vil wīȥen hant; dō kuste s’ alsō tōten den edelen ritter guot.
From A Middle High German Primer Third Edition by Joseph Wright
It's a Sin actor Callum Scott Howells, who stars as Henry Paget in Madfabulous, previously said it was a "genuine honour" to portray the fifth Marquess of Anglesey.
From BBC ● Sep. 2, 2026
Russell T. Davies, the Swansea-born writer behind shows including Doctor Who and Channel 4's It's a Sin, also said online that he "can't wait".
From BBC ● Sep. 2, 2026
Knightsbridge wins the Pacific Classic at Del Mar, holding off Original Sin and Full Serrano to earn an automatic berth in the Breeders’ Cup.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 28, 2026
Over the past two decades, Sin City has cut its water consumption by a third, by promoting wastewater recycling and restricting lawn watering and swimming pool sizes.
From Barron's ● Aug. 27, 2026
The second night he preached, his topic was The Wages of Sin.
From "Go Set a Watchman: A Novel" by Harper Lee
Pura Casilla, the governor of San Cristobal province, told Noticias SIN that the explosion occurred in a commercial area and greatly affected businesses near the town center.
From Seattle Times ● Aug. 15, 2023
The description for the folder Correspondence SIN reads:
From The Guardian ● Mar. 23, 2017
These may be labeled, for example, SIN , ARCSIN, or ASIN.
From Textbooks ● Feb. 13, 2015
Ms. Martin’s two-year-old fitness-concierge business, SIN Workouts, recommends and books group fitness classes such as SoulCycle for clients.
From New York Times ● Dec. 17, 2014
"I just told you, I can't give out my SIN!"
From Super Man and the Bug Out by Cory Doctorow
Thomas has spoken publicly about his new-found faith: "I have repented my sins and, under Jesus Christ, I am a new man."
From BBC ● Sep. 11, 2026
But while your brother’s lack of money management appears to have led your mother to make this gesture, it’s also important not to punish his children for the sins of their father.
From MarketWatch ● Sep. 10, 2026
O’Brien sees the Nazi allegations as falsehoods that steal attention from the actor’s actual sins.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 2, 2026
Evangelical leaders “helped to organize the Populist revolt of the 1880s and 1890s” and others “urged Texans to see the sins of our economic system,” he said.
From Salon ● Aug. 3, 2026
Oh my God I am sorry for all my sins, “Because they displease Thee, Lord, Who art all good and deserving...”
From "Bless Me, Ultima" by Rudolfo Anaya
She danced and sinned and regretted and atoned, and then contradicted herself by doing it all over again.
From Salon ● Jul. 8, 2026
Bless me, Father, for I have sinned: In the past few weeks I have watched the trailer for “Conclave” so many times it could be considered gluttony.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 6, 2024
“I have sinned, I’ve broken the law and I have no excuses,” Kreuper said via teleconference.
From Seattle Times ● Feb. 7, 2022
In 2018, the board, which has a tarnished recent history, reciprocated his antagonism, censuring him for having sinned against collegiality by things he had said and done.
From Washington Post ● Oct. 27, 2021
She had defeated him—she had sinned against his empire and now would emerge victorious.
From "Throne of Glass" by Sarah J. Maas
His Adam is aptly named; he’s a biblical kind of hero, sinning and suffering.
From Los Angeles Times ● May 2, 2023
Crusaders came to expect standard privileges like the indulgence, a means to reduce the penance owed for sinning by giving money directly to the church or paying for masses or other clerical services.
From Textbooks ● Apr. 19, 2023
He insists he is a man more sinned against than sinning and is working with lawyers to clear his name.
From BBC ● Jul. 13, 2021
He’s willing to acknowledge that his earlier comments about hanging were “trollish and hostile,” but he clearly feels more sinned against than sinning.
From Washington Post ● Apr. 23, 2018
I never sinning I always winning Now I got Jesus.
From "A Confederacy of Dunces" by John Kennedy Toole
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Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
