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• lean
  lean

  verb (used without object)

  to incline or bend from a vertical position.
• Lean
  Lean

  noun

  David, 1908–91, British film director.

lean

¹ American  

[leen] / lin /

verb (used without object)

• leans,
  present (3rd person singular)
• leaned,
  past participle,  past
• leant,
  past participle,  past (especially British)
• leaning
  present participle

1. to incline or bend from a vertical position.

   She leaned out the window.

2. to incline, as in a particular direction; slant.

   The post leans to the left.

   The building leaned sharply before renovation.

3. to incline in feeling, opinion, action, etc..

   to lean toward socialism.

4. to rest against or on something for support.

   to lean against a wall.

5. to depend or rely (usually followed by on orupon ).

   someone he could lean on in an emergency.

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verb (used with object)

• leans,
  present (3rd person singular)
• leaned,
  past participle,  past
• leant,
  past participle,  past (especially British)
• leaning
  present participle

1. to incline or bend.

   He leaned his head forward.

2. to cause to lean or rest; prop.

   to lean a chair against the railing.

noun

1. the act or state of leaning; inclination.

   The tower has a pronounced lean.

verb phrase

1. lean on

   1. to exert influence or pressure on in order to gain cooperation, maintain discipline, or the like.

      The state is leaning on the company to clean up its industrial wastes.

   2. to criticize, reprimand, or punish.

      I would have enjoyed school more if the teachers hadn't leaned on me so much.

2. lean in

   1. to shift one's body weight forward or toward someone or something.

      Because Don was whispering, I had to lean in so I could hear him.

      He stood near home plate and leaned in for the pitch.

   2. to embrace risk, be assertive, etc., as to achieve the greatest level of success in the workplace.

      She really knows how to lean in—she'll have a corner office before long.

idioms

1. lean over backward(s). bend.

lean ² American  

[leen] / lin /

adjective

• leaner,
  comparative
• leanest
  superlative

1. (of persons or animals) without much flesh or fat; not plump or fat; thin.

   lean cattle.

   Synonyms:

   lanky, lank, skinny

   Antonyms:

   fat

2. (of edible meat) containing little or no fat.

   Antonyms:

   fat

3. lacking in richness, fullness, quantity, etc.; poor.

   a lean diet; lean years.

   Synonyms:

   jejune, unfruitful, barren, sparse

   Antonyms:

   fruitful

4. spare; economical.

   a lean prose style.

5. Automotive. (of a mixture in a fuel system) having a relatively low ratio of fuel to air (contrasted with rich).

6. (of paint) having more pigment than oil.

7. Nautical. (of a bow) having fine lines; sharp.

8. Metallurgy. (of ore) having a low mineral content; low-grade.

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noun

1. the part of flesh that consists of muscle rather than fat.

2. the lean part of anything.

3. Typesetting. matter that is difficult to set because of complexity or intermixed fonts.

Lean ³ American  

[leen] / lin /

noun

1. David, 1908–91, British film director.

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lean ¹ British  

/ liːn /

adjective

1. (esp of a person or an animal) having no surplus flesh or bulk; not fat or plump

2. not bulky or full

3. (of meat) having little or no fat

4. not rich, abundant, or satisfying

5. (of a mixture of fuel and air) containing insufficient fuel and too much air

   a lean mixture

6. (of printer's type) having a thin appearance

7. (of a paint) containing relatively little oil

8. (of an ore) not having a high mineral content

9. (of concrete) made with a small amount of cement

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noun

1. the part of meat that contains little or no fat

lean ² British  

/ liːn /

verb

1. to rest or cause to rest against a support

2. to incline or cause to incline from a vertical position

3. (intr; foll by to or towards) to have or express a tendency or leaning

4. informal to make a special effort, esp in order to please

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noun

1. the condition of inclining from a vertical position

Lean ³ British  

/ liːn /

noun

1. 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)

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Usage

What else does lean mean? Content warning: this article contains references to drug abuse. In slang, lean is a term for prescription-strength cough syrup mixed with soft drinks and candy. It’s also known by such other names as purple drank or sizzurp.

Synonym Usage

See thin.

Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• leanness
  noun
• leanly
  adverb

Inflected Forms

Adjectives

• leaner
  comparative
• leanest
  superlative

Participles

• leaning
  present
• leaned
  past
• leant
  past

Conjugated Forms

Present

• lean
  simple
• leans
  simple
• have leaned
  perfect
• have leant
  perfect
• has leaned
  perfect
• has leant
  perfect
• am leaning
  progressive
• are leaning
  progressive
• is leaning
  progressive
• have been leaning
  perfect progressive
• has been leaning
  perfect progressive

Past

• leaned
  simple
• leant
  simple
• had leaned
  perfect
• had leant
  perfect
• was leaning
  progressive
• were leaning
  progressive
• had been leaning
  perfect progressive

Future

• will lean
  simple
• will have leaned
  perfect
• will have leant
  perfect
• will be leaning
  progressive
• will have been leaning
  perfect progressive

Etymology

Origin of lean¹

First recorded before 900; Middle English lenen, Old English hleonian, hlinian; cognate with German lehnen; akin to Greek klī́nein, Latin -clīnāre “to incline ”

Origin of lean²

First recorded before 1000; Middle English lene, lein(e), Old English hlǣne

Explanation

If you lean on something, you incline your body against it, like the way you lean against a wall while waiting in line. If you lean on a person, you rely on her for moral support, like the way you lean on your best friend when you're feeling sad or worried. If you’re tired, lean back in your chair. If you’re broke, lean on your family for financial help. But something can lean all by itself, if it’s not standing straight. The famous Tower of Pisa leans at an angle of about 4 degrees. As an adjective, we use lean to describe something skimpy or lacking excess flesh. When you're experiencing financial difficulty, you could say you're going through lean (not prosperous) times.

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

lean Lean leaner leanest leans leaned leant leaning

Not to mention the Trojans have got a great quarterback, one that Riley expects to lean on his experience as USC faces its biggest test of the season.

From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 25, 2026

While Warren and the bill’s co-sponsors shouldn’t lean too hard on an extemporaneous riff from a podcaster, the germ of a promising strategy is there.

From Salon ● Sep. 25, 2026

Data, says Midtjylland's Kjaer, is "extremely important because it gives you an objective tool you can lean towards" when complemented by years of decision-making experience.

From BBC ● Sep. 23, 2026

“Airlines are in the midst of a second fuel shock in less than a year in 2026,” analysts at Citi said in a recent note, adding that luckily, investors can lean on familiar playbooks.

From MarketWatch ● Sep. 22, 2026

Then I lean against the door and close my eyes.

From "The Brightwood Code" by Monica Hesse

Lean in, though, and you’ll hear how carefully she’s building toward a feeling of complete abandon.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 9, 2026

Shopkeeper Dayana Lean, 51, said that "zones one and three" of the complex were the hardest hit.

From Barron's ● Jun. 29, 2026

Much of his scorn, for example, is directed at the millennial Lean In crowd that wanted women to be more like successful men—ambitious and loud.

From Slate ● Jun. 18, 2026

Or Sheryl Sandberg, whose Lean In Foundation now hawks AI to women; in March, Sandberg joined the board of directors of Nscale, a British data-center startup.

From Salon ● Jun. 10, 2026

“Here, come, Matt. Come, John. Today’s memory will be a video of the four of us. Lean in.”

From "Adrift" by Paul Griffin

Instead of wide postwar boulevards, roads would become slower and leaner, transforming Long Beach into a top-five global cycling city, said former city traffic engineer Paul Van Dyk.

From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 25, 2026

It results in a leaner sound, and Mr. Ehrlich’s presentation highlights this by showcasing some of the music in duet settings.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 7, 2026

It is easy to see why JLR's chief executive PJ Balaji feels action is necessary to trim costs and make the company leaner.

From BBC ● Sep. 7, 2026

The mice also appeared younger, leaner and more physically fit than control animals of the same age.

From Science Daily ● Sep. 3, 2026

Another was taller, leaner, but still muscular, and honey blond.

From "Twilight" by Stephenie Meyer

A commonly eaten meat in Australia, kangaroo is the world’s leanest protein and the equivalent of venison in America.

From Salon ● Aug. 30, 2026

It's not a lie - I was never the leanest cricketer in the world, but I won games for franchises.

From BBC ● Jun. 5, 2023

"Sell in May and go away" is based on the premise that the best six-month period of the year for stock market returns is November to April, while the leanest is May to October.

From Reuters ● May 5, 2023

“Certainly, the paper supply has been the leanest it’s ever been,” said Jim Suver, co-chair of a federal election security working group that focuses on supply chain issues.

From Seattle Times ● Jul. 19, 2022

Study after study shows that the leanest curriculums are being offered in the highest-poverty areas, despite ample evidence that this is exactly the wrong thing to do.

From "Drama High" by Michael Sokolove

Usman Muhammad pauses by the entrance to a tiny Nigerian prison cell and leans his forehead against the wall unable to speak.

From BBC ● Sep. 22, 2026

Now, “Best Medicine” lets Charles leans into the push and pull of the comedy and drama within his tightly wound alter ego.

From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 22, 2026

“In pop culture, we have introduced an entirely new fandom experience and destination that leans into things like trading cards and collectibles, but also exclusive collaborations, into one cohesive experience,” Sylvester said.

From MarketWatch ● Sep. 17, 2026

Nomura analyst Naka Matsuzawa had expected the yen to gain further this week as the Fed leans toward skipping a September rate increase and the case for a BOJ hike strengthens.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 7, 2026

He leans his shoulder against one of the posts outside the Pioneer Saloon.

From "Will’s Race for Home" by Jewell Parker Rhodes

Once the budget passed, lawmakers’ staff leaned on Navy officials to award Navatek the money.

From Salon ● Sep. 23, 2026

This is because certain coaches have leaned into the club's roots, while others have tried but failed to move away from those ideas.

From BBC ● Sep. 16, 2026

They later leaned on their religious pedigree, a history ruling northern Yemen and harsh repression to expand their territory in the wake of the Arab Spring.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 15, 2026

The inquest also heard no evidence of third-party involvement or any link to loyalist paramilitaries, at odds with years of endless social media speculation that sometimes leaned into conspiracies.

From BBC ● Sep. 15, 2026

He leaned out the window, craning his thin neck, the little faun’s beard pointed this way and that.

From "The Hiding Place" by Corrie ten Boom

Nichols suggested this showed the sauropod had stopped and leant on one leg for a moment "as if it's looking back over its left shoulder".

From BBC ● Jun. 10, 2026

Researchers said the work also leant further credence to a theory about humpback whale patterns known as the "Southern Ocean Exchange".

From Barron's ● May 20, 2026

He sought out some professional help but leant largely on friends, family and his faith to change his mentality.

From BBC ● Jan. 31, 2026

The family also claims the new authorities have leant on the courts to find them guilty.

From Barron's ● Nov. 12, 2025

She leant forward and vomited copiously on the floor.

From "1984" by George Orwell

“To me, this suggests the bond market has been leaning too hawkish in the near-term,” he said.

From MarketWatch ● Sep. 29, 2026

Right now, I’m leaning toward the Bilt card.

From MarketWatch ● Sep. 29, 2026

Facing match point at 8-9 down in the tie break, Alcaraz fired an ace before leaning on a drop shot to stave off a second.

From BBC ● Sep. 27, 2026

YouTube isn’t the only streamer leaning into live.

From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 23, 2026

Now he was leaning more heavily on Rowans shoulder, but still, he moved on without complaint.

From "Rowan of Rin" by Emily Rodda

Related Words

• angular
• gangly
• gaunt
• lanky
• rangy
• sinewy
• skinny
• slender
• slim
• sparse
• svelte
• wiry