definitions

lean

2
[ leen ]
/ lin /
||
SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR lean ON THESAURUS.COM

adjective, lean·er, lean·est.

noun

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RELATED WORDS

weakness, lack, dearth, failure, poverty, deficit, scarcity, shortfall, lapse, inadequacy, paucity, scantiness, insufficiency, curtailment, want, pinch, defalcation, emaciation, slenderness, gauntness

Nearby words

leaky, leal, lealty, leamington, leamington spa, lean, lean and hungry look, lean on, lean over backwards, lean-burn, lean-faced

Origin of lean

2
before 1000; Middle English lene, Old English hlǣne

SYNONYMS FOR lean

1 skinny, lank, lanky. See thin.
3 sparse, barren, unfruitful, jejune.
SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR lean ON THESAURUS.COM

Related forms

lean·ly, adverblean·ness, noun
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Examples from the Web for leanness

British Dictionary definitions for leanness (1 of 3)

Lean

/ (liːn) /

noun

Sir David. 1908–91, English film director. His films include In Which We Serve (1942), Blithe Spirit (1945), Brief Encounter (1946), Great Expectations (1946), Oliver Twist (1948), The Bridge on the River Kwai (1957), Lawrence of Arabia (1962), Dr Zhivago (1965), and A Passage to India (1984)

British Dictionary definitions for leanness (2 of 3)

lean

1
/ (liːn) /

verb leans, leaning, leaned or leant

(foll by against, on, or upon) to rest or cause to rest against a support
to incline or cause to incline from a vertical position
(intr; foll by to or towards) to have or express a tendency or leaning
lean over backwards informal to make a special effort, esp in order to please

noun

the condition of inclining from a vertical position
See also lean on

Word Origin for lean

Old English hleonian, hlinian; related to Old High German hlinēn, Latin clīnāre to incline

British Dictionary definitions for leanness (3 of 3)

lean

2
/ (liːn) /

adjective

noun

the part of meat that contains little or no fat

Derived Forms

leanly, adverbleanness, noun

Word Origin for lean

Old English hlǣne, of Germanic origin
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