yarn

American  

[yahrn] / jɑrn /

noun

yarns plural

1. thread made of natural or synthetic fibers and used for knitting and weaving.

2. a continuous strand or thread made from glass, metal, plastic, etc.

3. the thread, in the form of a loosely twisted aggregate of fibers, as of hemp, of which rope is made rope yarn.

4. a tale, especially a long story of adventure or incredible happenings.

   He spun a yarn that outdid any I had ever heard.

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verb (used without object)

yarns, present (3rd person singular) yarned, past participle, past yarning present participle

1. Informal. to spin a yarn; tell stories.

yarn British  

/ jɑːn /

noun

1. a continuous twisted strand of natural or synthetic fibres, used in weaving, knitting, etc

2. informal a long and often involved story or account, usually telling of incredible or fantastic events

3. informal

   1. to tell such a story

   2. to make up or relate a series of excuses

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verb

1. (intr) to tell such a story or stories

yarn Idioms  

1. see spin a yarn.

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Other Word Forms

Inflected Forms

Nouns

• yarns
  plural

Participles

• yarning
  present
• yarned
  past

Conjugated Forms

Present

• yarn
  simple
• yarns
  simple
• have yarned
  perfect
• has yarned
  perfect
• am yarning
  progressive
• are yarning
  progressive
• is yarning
  progressive
• have been yarning
  perfect progressive
• has been yarning
  perfect progressive

Past

• yarned
  simple
• had yarned
  perfect
• was yarning
  progressive
• were yarning
  progressive
• had been yarning
  perfect progressive

Future

• will yarn
  simple
• will have yarned
  perfect
• will be yarning
  progressive
• will have been yarning
  perfect progressive

Etymology

Origin of yarn

before 1000; Middle English; Old English gearn; cognate with German Garn; akin to Old Norse gǫrn gut, Greek chordḗ intestine, chord ¹, Lithuanian žarnà entrails, Latin hernia a rupture, Sanskrit hirā vein

Explanation

If you want to knit a hat, you're going to need yarn, the thick string made of twisted threads that's used to make sweaters, scarves, socks and other knitted things. Yarn is made from fibers, and it comes in many colors. When you knit, you weave yarn with needles and end up with a pot holder or a pair of mittens. Another kind of yarn is a long story that's told out loud. You might, in fact, tell your friend a yarn while you crochet an afghan with yarn. The Old English root word, gearn, means "spun fibers," but it comes from the Proto-Indo-European ghere, or "intestine."

Example Sentences

Lookout Hill: Yarn and Art Supplies – I passed this shop a few times and couldn’t get over how charming it looked.

From Salon • Mar. 31, 2026

The tank is on show at Victoria shopping centre from Saturday until 2 November, and the Longest Yarn between 2-28 October.

From BBC • Sep. 28, 2024

Crafters find many resources at Fidalgo Artisan Yarn & Clothing, Fabrics Plus and The Bead Store at Elisabeth’s Cottage just in time for holiday gift making.

From Seattle Times • Nov. 6, 2023

With most stores offering free weekly knitting groups, the Yarn Crawl is the perfect opportunity to find a compatible community of knitters.

From Los Angeles Times • Feb. 6, 2020

Yarn puddles all over the floor until all that is left are a few round, fuzzy balls with strange names like Pluto, Strawberry, and Bluebeard.

From "A Step from Heaven" by An Na

Related Words

• fleece
• thread
• wool