loin

American  

[loin] / lɔɪn /

noun

• loins
  plural

1. Usually loins. the part or parts of the human body or of a quadruped animal on either side of the spinal column, between the false ribs and hipbone.

2. a cut of meat from this region of an animal, especially a portion including the vertebrae of such parts.

3. loins,

   1. the parts of the body between the hips and the lower ribs, especially regarded as the seat of physical strength and generative power.

   2. the genital and pubic area; genitalia.

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idioms

1. gird (up) one's loins, to prepare oneself for something requiring readiness, strength, or endurance.

   He girded his loins to face his competitor.

loin British  

/ lɔɪn /

noun

1. Also called: lumbus. anatomy the part of the lower back and sides between the pelvis and the ribs

2. a cut of meat from this part of an animal

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loin More Idioms  

1. see gird one's loins.

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Other Word Forms

Noun Inflected Forms

• loins
  plural

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Etymology

Origin of loin

1275–1325; Middle English loyne < Middle French lo ( i ) gne, perhaps < Vulgar Latin *lumbea, noun use of feminine of *lumbeus of the loins, equivalent to Latin lumb ( us ) loin + -eus -eous

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Explanation

Your loin is the part of your body just above your hip, but below your rib cage. A low-slung belt hangs more or less along your loin. Loin often refers generally to a person's body below their ribs, though rarely by doctors (who like to get more specific). At the butcher, though, it means a particular cut of meat, usually beef or pork, from an animal's low back and side. This is the earliest meaning of the word, which comes from the Old French loigne, "hip or haunch." In the Bible, loin means "part of the body that should be covered with clothing."

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

loin loins

One group of ash-smeared holy men, some naked and some dressed in just a loin cloth or marigold garland draped around their necks, marched through the streets, holding tridents, swords and small two-headed drums.

From BBC ● Jan. 13, 2025

One group of ash-smeared men, some naked and some dressed in just loin cloth or marigold garland draped around their necks, marched in holding tridents, swords and small two-headed drums.

From BBC ● Jan. 12, 2025

Prepare your own roasts using lean meats such as pork loin, beef sirloin or lamb.

From Salon ● Feb. 14, 2024

Each course is practically a feast unto itself: vol-au-vent, roasted veal loin, poached turbot, baked Alaska — and that’s just the first half-hour.

From Los Angeles Times ● Dec. 15, 2023

The loin I would brine overnight, to keep the lean meat from drying out on the grill, cover it with crushed peppercorns, and then grill it fairly quickly over olive wood.

From "The Omnivore's Dilemma" by Michael Pollan

Sakai, who sells it wholesale, said that in recent years, his rates for Wagyu strip loins have fallen from $65 to $41 per pound.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 22, 2026

Tynecastle rubbed its eyes and then girded its loins.

From BBC ● Jan. 25, 2026

Then they’re cleaned by hand and the loins are separated from the belly before the meat is tightly hand-packed in cans and jars.

From Washington Post ● Jan. 29, 2023

“As if I were not her very own child,” Harry, the novel’s sole narrator, says, “as if I were not the flesh of her loins, as if I were instead some foreign pathogenic prototype.”

From Seattle Times ● Jul. 19, 2022

But we’re going to have to talk about it soon, so gird your loins, reader.

From "Everything Sad Is Untrue" by Daniel Nayeri

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