thin
[thin]
- having relatively little extent from one surface or side to the opposite; not thick: thin ice.
- of small cross section in comparison with the length; slender: a thin wire.
- having little flesh; spare; lean: a thin man.
- composed of or containing objects, particles, etc., widely separated; sparse: thin vegetation.
- scant; not abundant or plentiful.
- of relatively slight consistency or viscosity: thin soup.
- rarefied, as air.
- without solidity or substance; flimsy: a very thin plot for such a long book.
- lacking fullness or volume; weak and shrill: a thin voice.
- without force or a sincere effort: a thin smile.
- lacking body, richness, or strength: a thin wine.
- lacking in chroma; of light tint.
- Photography. (of a developed negative) lacking in density or contrast through underdevelopment or underexposure.
- in a thin manner.
- sparsely; not densely.
- so as to produce something thin: Slice the ham thin.
- to make thin or thinner (often followed by down, out, etc.).
- to become thin or thinner; become reduced or diminished (often followed by down, out, off, etc.): The crowd is thinning out.
Origin of thin
before 900; (adj. and adv.) Middle English thyn(ne), Old English thynne; cognate with Dutch dun, German dünn, Old Norse thunnr; (v.) Middle English thynnen, Old English thynnian, derivative of the adj.; compare Middle Dutch dunnen, Old Norse thynna; akin to Old Irish tana, Latin tenuis thin, Greek tany- long
Synonyms
See more synonyms on Thesaurus.com3. slim, slender, skinny, lank, scrawny. Thin, gaunt, lean, spare agree in referring to one having little flesh. Thin applies often to one in an unnaturally reduced state, as from sickness, overwork, lack of food, or the like: a thin, dirty little waif. Gaunt suggests the angularity of bones prominently displayed in a thin face and body: to look ill and gaunt. Lean usually applies to a person or animal that is naturally thin: looking lean but healthy after an outdoor vacation. Spare implies a muscular leanness with no diminution of vitality: Lincoln was spare in body. 5. meager. 8. weak.
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018
Examples from the Web for thinnest
Contemporary Examples
Giuliana has the thinnest body, but she eats, she really eats, so what the hell are you going to yell at her about?
People with eating disorders can become competitive and perfectionistic, striving to be the “thinnest” in any group of sufferers.
It was the thinnest of clues, based on hourly signals showing that the 777 was still “alive.”
Romney is just barely hanging on by the thinnest thread that exists.
Michael Tomasky: Romney Barely Hanging On After Alabama and MississippiMichael Tomasky
March 14, 2012
Democrats have succeeded in fighting off passage of the law by the thinnest of margins.
Historical Examples
It was thick and soft with sheet after sheet of thinnest paper.
The CavalierGeorge Washington Cable
Looking down I saw beside me the thinnest kitten I ever beheld.
Concerning CatsHelen M. Winslow
It is, however, composed of the thinnest vapours imaginable.
The Outline of Science, Vol. 1 (of 4)J. Arthur Thomson
It spreads over the surface in the thinnest film that can be imagined.
Diggers in the EarthEva March Tappan
Nearly all were half-clad, or wearing only the thinnest of garments.
Lights and Shadows in Confederate PrisonsHomer B. Sprague
thin
- of relatively small extent from one side or surface to the other; fine or narrow
- slim or lean
- sparsely placed; meagrethin hair
- of relatively low density or viscositya thin liquid
- weak; poor; insufficienta thin disguise
- (of a photographic negative) having low density, usually insufficient to produce a satisfactory positive
- mountaineering a climb or pitch on which the holds are few and small
- thin on the ground few in number; scarce
- in order to produce something thinto cut bread thin
- to make or become thin or sparse
Word Origin
Old English thynne; related to Old Frisian thenne, Old Saxon, Old High German thunni, Old Norse thunnr, Latin tenuis thin, Greek teinein to stretch
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition
© William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
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Word Origin and History for thinnest
thin
adj.
Old English þynne "narrow, lean, scanty," from Proto-Germanic *thunnuz, *thunw- (cf. West Frisian ten, Middle Low German dunne, Dutch dun, Old High German dunni, German dünn, Old Norse þunnr), from PIE *tnus-, *tnwi-, from weak grade of root *ten- "stretch" (cf. Latin tenuis "thin, slender;" see tenet).
These our actors ... were all Spirits, and Are melted into Ayre, into thin Ayre. [Shakespeare, "The Tempest," IV.i.150, 1610]
Thin-skinned is attested from 1590s; the figurative sense of "touchy" is from 1670s.
thin
v.
Old English þynnian "to make thin" (cf. German dünnen, Dutch dunnen), from thin (adj.). Intransitive sense of "to become less numerous" is attested from 1743; that of "to become thinner" is recorded from 1804. Related: Thinned; thinning.
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper
Idioms and Phrases with thinnest
thin
In addition to the idioms beginning with thin
also see:
The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary
Copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.