chin
noun
the lower extremity of the face, below the mouth.
Jump To:
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chin
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ch'in
ch'innouna 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.
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Chin
ChinnounAlso 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).
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Ch'in
Ch'innouna 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.
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Chin.
Chin.abbreviationChina.
chin
1 American
[chin]
/ tʃɪn /
noun
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chins
plural
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the lower extremity of the face, below the mouth.
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the prominence of the lower jaw.
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Informal. chin-up.
verb (used with object)
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chins,
present (3rd person singular)
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chinned,
past participle, past
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chinning
present participle
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Gymnastics.
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to bring one's chin up to (a horizontal bar, from which one is hanging by the hands), by bending the elbows.
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to raise (oneself ) to this position.
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to raise or hold to the chin, as a violin.
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Archaic. to talk to; chatter with.
verb (used without object)
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chins,
present (3rd person singular)
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chinned,
past participle, past
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chinning
present participle
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Gymnastics. to chin oneself.
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Slang. to talk; chatter.
We sat up all night chinning about our college days.
idioms
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keep one's chin up, to maintain a cheerful disposition in spite of difficulties, disappointments, etc. Also chin up.
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take it on the chin,
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to suffer defeat; fail completely.
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to endure suffering or punishment.
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ch'in
2
American
[chin, cheen]
/ tʃɪn, tʃin /
noun
Chin
3
American
[jin]
/ dʒɪn /
(Pinyin)
Jin
noun
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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).
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a dynasty that ruled in China 1115–1234.
Ch'in
4
American
[chin, cheen]
/ tʃɪn, tʃin /
(Pinyin)
Qin
noun
Chin.
5
American
Or
Chin.
abbreviation
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China.
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Chinese.
chin
1
British
/ tʃɪn /
noun
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the protruding part of the lower jaw
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the front part of the face below the lips
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Sometimes shortened to: chin up!. to keep cheerful under difficult circumstances
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informal to face squarely up to a defeat, adversity, etc
verb
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gymnastics to raise one's chin to (a horizontal bar, etc) when hanging by the arms
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informal (tr) to punch or hit (someone) on the chin
Chin.
2
British
abbreviation
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China
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Chinese
chin
More Idioms
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
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chinsimple
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chinssimple
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have chinnedperfect
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has chinnedperfect
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am chinningprogressive
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are chinningprogressive
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is chinningprogressive
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have been chinningperfect progressive
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has been chinningperfect progressive
Past
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chinnedsimple
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had chinnedperfect
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was chinningprogressive
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were chinningprogressive
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had been chinningperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of chin1
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 genial 2, -gnathous), Sanskrit hanus jaw
Origin of ch'in2
From Chinese (Wade-Giles) ch'in2, (Pinyin) qín
Explanation
Your chin is the somewhat pointy part of your jaw at the bottom of your face, below your mouth. When a man has a bushy beard, it usually covers his cheeks and his chin. Humans are unique in having a chin — it's thought to have evolved in part from our habit of using speech. When chin is a verb, it means to do a pull up on an exercise bar, lifting your full weight until your chin touches the bar. In the late 16th century, to chin meant to affectionately rub chins with someone else, and in 1880s American slang, it also meant "to gossip."
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:
Artwork by his son Naviyd is featured on the walls, while an enlarged drawing of a tattoo that Usher has on his chin has been turned into a decorative ceiling mural.
From MarketWatch ● Aug. 18, 2026
She conjures a bewitching onscreen presence that many of her contemporaries could only dream of, pulling the viewer’s gaze with a single glare from her steely eyes or the quiver of her chin.
From Salon ● Aug. 17, 2026
He said there could be nervy moments and recalled one incident when Newall was balancing a garden shed on his chin.
From BBC ● Jul. 16, 2026
I had to, you know, take it on the chin, or whatever.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 7, 2026
The grandmother pointed with her chin in the direction Maggie needed to go.
From "Legendary Frybread Drive-In" by Cynthia Leitich Smith
"The lines composed by cousin Pao ch'in are indeed devised in a too pigheaded and fast-and-loose sort of way," she observed.
From Hung Lou Meng, Book II Or, the Dream of the Red Chamber, a Chinese Novel in Two Books by H. Bencraft Joly
They were ch'in ping, or body-guard troops, in sky-blue tunics, and this retirement was the most significant of all.
From Indiscreet Letters From Peking Being the Notes of an Eye-Witness, Which Set Forth in Some Detail, from Day to Day, the Real Story of the Siege and Sack of a Distressed Capital in 1900—The Year of Great Tribulation by B. L. (Bertram Lenox) Putnam Weale
Besides adopting the reading of sin for ch'in from the Ch'ang, and modifying their arrangements of the text, Chu Hsi made other innovations.
From The Chinese Classics: with a translation, critical and exegetical notes, prolegomena and copious indexes (Shih ching. English) — Volume 1 by James Legge
These tunings were both borrowed by the Japanese from the Chinese by whom they were used as special tunings of the ch'in, or kin, one of the most ancient of musical instruments.
From The Tinguian Social, Religious, and Economic Life of a Philippine Tribe by Fay-Cooper Cole
At or near the summit, Mr. Chin took out what looked like an electric screwdriver, and he and the others bolted skis onto their boots.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 16, 2026
“Not enough memory fabs were constructed to handle the amount of memory demand” brought on by generative and agentic AI, added Stifel analyst Brian Chin.
From MarketWatch ● Jun. 28, 2026
Consequences of the conflict also spilled across the border into India, with thousands of people, many from Myanmar's Chin ethnic minority, taking refuge in India's north-eastern states of Mizoram and Manipur.
From BBC ● Jun. 2, 2026
Shortly after Benjamin Chin moved into his home in 2019, he began to hear a persistent rattling sound coming from the ceiling above the primary bedroom.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Apr. 8, 2026
Chin comes to the ice-cream store with her mom.
From "Invisible Inkling" by Emily Jenkins
Let’s say you wanted to remember the names of Chinese dynasties: Zhou, Ch’in, Han, Tang, Ming.
From Washington Post ● Apr. 8, 2023
Even more astonishing, a poem circulated at the protest read: "Gone for good is Ch'in Shih Huang feudal society."
From Time Magazine Archive
Shensi is reverenced as the birthplace of the Chinese nation, and when the country was first unified by the Ch'in dynasty in 221 B.C., its capital was near present-day Sian.
From Time Magazine Archive
Ch'in Shih Huang Ti was the first leader to unify all China.
From Time Magazine Archive
Ao Ch’in expressed penitence, restored the servant and the presents, and made full apology to the Eight Immortals.
From Myths and Legends of China by E. T. C. (Edward Theodore Chalmers) Werner
“It’s nice to meet you, Dr. Chin. I’m Courtney.”
From "Odd One Out" by Nic Stone
Thus the Chin. yu, originally go, is equated with Akkad gu, to speak; ye with ge, night, and so on.
From Man, Past and Present by Alfred Court Haddon
Beards can help cover up bad skin, weak chins, too-long or too-short upper lips, facial tattoos and more.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 3, 2026
That might be giving too much credit to one player’s influence after nearly 50 years of clean chins, but come opening day, the smart money will be on Williams wearing a beard.
From Los Angeles Times ● Feb. 21, 2025
So how exactly did this fish - easily identifiable thanks to the black spots on their chins and cheeks - come to be in Thailand?
From BBC ● Aug. 31, 2024
Chinstrap penguins get their name from the thin black line under their chins, which looks like a strap holding on a black hat or helmet.
From NewsForKids.net ● Dec. 12, 2023
Lu and Ghost had their arms up but tucked their chins, almost as if they were sniffing their pits, when really they were just sneak-looking at me.
From "Patina" by Jason Reynolds
"Taking interim fights, you can get chinned by anyone."
From BBC ● Apr. 12, 2026
A guy in Philadelphia chinned 24 pullups in a row at age 90, which is roughly 23 more than I’ve done in my entire life.
From Washington Post ● Mar. 26, 2019
Double chinned faces are usually categorized under the round and wide face.
From Forbes ● Sep. 28, 2014
And she's come back to her best today and chinned us on the line.
From The Guardian ● Jul. 21, 2012
I sprang up, grabbed it, and then, in a fumbling and perhaps grotesque offering to Phineas, I chinned myself.
From "A Separate Peace" by John Knowles
Outside is a chinning bar dating to Tolstoy’s day.
From New York Times ● Sep. 21, 2016
A staffer found him in the baggage room, chinning with the porters.
From Time Magazine Archive
In the morning "Ike" Eisenhower stood at an English quayside, chinning in his friendly Kansas way with embarking Tommies.
From Time Magazine Archive
CBS Boss Bill Paley and his two new vice presidents, Edward R. Murrow and Davidson Taylor, conceived Operation Crossroads while chinning about their European wartime experiences.
From Time Magazine Archive
I remember chinning myself on the top of a fence to see one such comedy show filled with gallows humor.
From "The Boy on the Wooden Box" by Leon Leyson
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
