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• chin
  chin

  noun

  the lower extremity of the face, below the mouth.
• ch'in
  ch'in

  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.
• Chin
  Chin

  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).
• Ch'in
  Ch'in

  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.
• Chin.
  Chin.

  abbreviation

  China.

chin

¹ American  

[chin] / tʃɪn /

noun

chins plural

1. the lower extremity of the face, below the mouth.

2. the prominence of the lower jaw.

3. Informal. chin-up.

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verb (used with object)

chins, present (3rd person singular) chinned, past participle, past chinning present participle

1. Gymnastics.

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

   2. to raise (oneself ) to this position.

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

3. Archaic. to talk to; chatter with.

verb (used without object)

chins, present (3rd person singular) chinned, past participle, past chinning present participle

1. Gymnastics. to chin oneself.

2. Slang. to talk; chatter.

   We sat up all night chinning about our college days.

idioms

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

2. take it on the chin,

   1. to suffer defeat; fail completely.

   2. to endure suffering or punishment.

ch'in ² American  

[chin, cheen] / tʃɪn, tʃin /

noun

1. 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.

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Chin ³ American  

[jin] / dʒɪn /

(Pinyin) Jin

noun

1. 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).

2. a dynasty that ruled in China 1115–1234.

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Ch'in ⁴ American  

[chin, cheen] / tʃɪn, tʃin /

(Pinyin) Qin

noun

1. 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.

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Chin. ⁵ American  

Or Chin.

abbreviation

1. China.

2. Chinese.

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chin ¹ British  

/ tʃɪn /

noun

1. the protruding part of the lower jaw

2. the front part of the face below the lips

3. Sometimes shortened to: chin up!.  to keep cheerful under difficult circumstances

4. informal to face squarely up to a defeat, adversity, etc

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verb

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

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

Chin. ² British  

abbreviation

1. China

2. Chinese

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chin More Idioms  

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

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Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• underchin
  noun
• chinless
  adjective

Inflected Forms

Nouns

• chins
  plural

Participles

• chinning
  present
• chinned
  past

Conjugated Forms

Present

• chin
  simple
• chins
  simple
• have chinned
  perfect
• has chinned
  perfect
• am chinning
  progressive
• are chinning
  progressive
• is chinning
  progressive
• have been chinning
  perfect progressive
• has been chinning
  perfect progressive

Past

• chinned
  simple
• had chinned
  perfect
• was chinning
  progressive
• were chinning
  progressive
• had been chinning
  perfect progressive

Future

• will chin
  simple
• will have chinned
  perfect
• will be chinning
  progressive
• will have been chinning
  perfect progressive

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

See Examples For:

chin ch'in Chin Ch'in Chin. chins chinned chinning

Then there is that face: stoic, chin up, lips closed, eyes focused.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 26, 2026

If you’re lucky, not too much of the medicine will wind up dripping down your adorable creature’s chin.

From Slate ● May 17, 2026

Not long after, Gray, in a plaid mini, is also posing at the photographers’ request, switching effortlessly between signature Gen Z stances, chin resting atop a bent hand.

From Los Angeles Times ● May 13, 2026

The fighter, who was working in recruitment a decade ago, showed extraordinary chin and heart.

From BBC ● May 9, 2026

“Do you regret it?” she asked, jerking her chin toward the building where the past version of me was just now bending down to pick up the letter.

From "Glitch" by Laura Martin

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 Cole, Fay-Cooper

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 Putnam Weale, B. L. (Bertram Lenox)

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 Legge, James

"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 Joly, H. Bencraft

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

Chin raises Malaysia’s 2026 export growth forecast to 15.3% from 9.3% after stronger-than-expected April export growth.

From The Wall Street Journal ● May 21, 2026

Stifel analyst Brian Chin said that Micron was the first stock that came to mind when he was assessing rally potential in a peacetime scenario, as memory has become the “epitome” of a risk asset.

From MarketWatch ● Apr. 8, 2026

Chin has a Buy rating and a $550 price target for Micron stock.

From Barron's ● Mar. 25, 2026

Most of the kids follow Ms. Cherry into the pizza line, except Chin and I have box lunch.

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

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

In the 3rd century B.C., he forcibly united most of China around the northeastern state of Ch'in and established a tyrannical rule that was soon swept away in civil war.

From Time Magazine Archive

Even more astonishing, a poem circulated at the protest read: "Gone for good is Ch'in Shih Huang feudal society."

From Time Magazine Archive

The ruling powers in Ch'ing, however, showed no disposition to employ even a man possessing such marked characteristics, and before long he removed to Ch'in, where he remained a year.

From The Great Events by Famous Historians, Volume 01 by Rudd, John

“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 Haddon, Alfred Court

"I love your chins, dad," Dani responded, sweetly.

From BBC ● May 10, 2026

Pundits who failed to predict the operation in the first place gravely stroked their chins before intoning that the Venezuelan adventure must inevitably fail.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jan. 4, 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

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

The change-averse Pittsburgh ownership stuck with the chinned one, and he eventually delivered the franchise’s fifth, and his first, Super Bowl title in 2005 in his 14th season.

From The Guardian ● Apr. 12, 2016

On a recent afternoon he chinned himself from a high bar and did an assortment of lifts with 30-pound weights on cables.

From Washington Post ● Mar. 2, 2016

Double chinned faces are usually categorized under the round and wide face.

From Forbes ● Sep. 28, 2014

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

In the morning "Ike" Eisenhower stood at an English quayside, chinning in his friendly Kansas way with embarking Tommies.

From Time Magazine Archive

A staffer found him in the baggage room, chinning with the porters.

From Time Magazine Archive

Franklin Roosevelt almost certainly would have been on the world telephones, chinning with "Uncle Joe" and talking guardedly with that mild, new quality at No. 10 Downing Street, Clement Attlee.

From Time Magazine Archive

The Englishmen had also been lifting weights and chinning themselves for years.

From "Slaughterhouse-Five" by Kurt Vonnegut