chin

[chin]

SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR chin ON THESAURUS.COM

noun

the lower extremity of the face, below the mouth.

the prominence of the lower jaw.

Informal. chin-up.

verb (used with object), chinned, chin·ning.

Gymnastics.

to bring one's chin up to (a horizontal bar, from which one is hanging by the hands), by bending the elbows.
to raise (oneself) to this position.

to raise or hold to the chin, as a violin.

Archaic. to talk to; chatter with.

verb (used without object), chinned, chin·ning.

Gymnastics. to chin oneself.

Slang. to talk; chatter: We sat up all night chinning about our college days.

Idioms

keep one's chin up, to maintain a cheerful disposition in spite of difficulties, disappointments, etc.Also chin up.

take it on the chin, Informal.

to suffer defeat; fail completely.
to endure suffering or punishment.

Origin of chin

before 1000; Middle English; Old English cin(n); cognate with Dutch kin, German Kinn chin, Old Norse kinn, Gothic kinnus cheek, Latin gena, Greek génus chin, gnáthos jaw (see genial², -gnathous), Sanskrit hanus jaw

Related formschin·less, adjectiveun·der·chin, noun

Chin

or Jin

[jin]

noun

Also Tsin. any of three dynasties that ruled in China, a.d. 265–316 (the Western Chin), a.d. 317–420 (the Eastern Chin), and a.d. 936–46 (the Later Chin).

a dynasty that ruled in China 1115–1234.

Chin.

or Chin.

China.

Chinese.

ch'in

[chin; Chinese cheen]

noun

a Chinese zither consisting of an oblong, slightly curved wooden box over which are stretched strings that are stopped with one hand and plucked with the other.

Origin of ch'in

< Chinese (Wade-Giles) ch'in2, (Pinyin) qín

Ch'in

[chin; Chinese cheen]

noun

a dynasty in ancient China, 221–206 b.c., marked by the emergence of a unified empire and the construction of much of the Great Wall of China.

Also Qin.

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Related Words for chin

point, jaw, button, mandible, mentum, jawbone

Examples from the Web for chin

Contemporary Examples of chin

His chin rested on the thick plastic collar buckled around his neck.
Dungeons and Genital Clamps: Inside a Legendary BDSM Chateau
Ian Frisch
December 20, 2014
“There aren't any steaks involved, pardon the pun,” says Chin.
Adventure Photographer Jimmy Chin: Defying the Rational, Physically and Creatively
Oliver Jones
October 6, 2014
“We were exhausted, but it was something I just had to do,” says Chin.
Adventure Photographer Jimmy Chin: Defying the Rational, Physically and Creatively
Oliver Jones
October 6, 2014
“The first time I saw Glacier National Park, it was the magical fantasy land I had always been dreaming about,” says Chin.
Adventure Photographer Jimmy Chin: Defying the Rational, Physically and Creatively
Oliver Jones
October 6, 2014
Ina drove me in, I got out of the car, and [the boxes] just reached up to my chin.
‘The Power Broker’ Turns 40: How Robert Caro Wrote a Masterpiece
Scott Porch
September 16, 2014

Historical Examples of chin

He has been up to the chin for the last twelvemonth and more.
Blackwood's Edinburgh Magazine, No. 327
Various
He found Austin sitting on the chair by his desk, resting his chin on his elbow.
Viviette
William J. Locke
Yet there was a set of the mouth and a prominence of the chin which relieved him of any trace of effeminacy.
The White Company
Arthur Conan Doyle
His hand came under my chin as his custom was in giving orders.
The Trail Book
Mary Austin
The edge of the ice-cake had taken Tiakens under the chin and he was unconscious.
The Trail Book
Mary Austin

British Dictionary definitions for chin

chin

noun

the protruding part of the lower jaw

the front part of the face below the lipsRelated adjective: genial

keep one's chin up to keep cheerful under difficult circumstancesSometimes shortened to: chin up!

take it on the chin informal to face squarely up to a defeat, adversity, etc

verb chins, chinning or chinned

gymnastics to raise one's chin to (a horizontal bar, etc) when hanging by the arms

(tr) informal to punch or hit (someone) on the chin

Word Origin for chin

Old English cinn; related to Old Norse kinn, Old High German kinni, Latin gena cheek, Old Irish gin mouth, Sanskrit hanu

Chin.

abbreviation for

China

Chinese

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Word Origin and History for chin

Old English cin, cinn "chin" (but in some compounds suggesting an older, broader sense of "jawbone"); a general Germanic word (cf. Old Saxon and Old High German kinni; Old Norse kinn; German Kinn "chin;" Gothic kinnus "cheek"), from PIE root *genu- "chin, jawbone" (cf. Sanskrit hanuh, Avestan zanu- "chin;" Armenian cnawt "jawbone, cheek;" Lithuanian žándas "jawbone;" Greek genus "lower jaw," geneion "chin;" Old Irish gin "mouth," Welsh gen "jawbone, chin").

1590s, "to press (affectionately) chin to chin," from chin (n.). Meaning "to bring to the chin" (of a fiddle) is from 1869. Slang meaning "talk, gossip" is from 1883, American English. Related: Chinned; chinning. Athletic sense of "raise one's chin over" (a raised bar, for exercise) is from 1880s.

chin in Medicine

chin

[chĭn]

n.

The prominence formed by the anterior projection of the lower jaw.

Idioms and Phrases with chin

chin

see keep one's chin up; lead with one's chin; take it on the chin.