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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

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

They are a triumph of engineering, squeezing a fighter pilot helmet’s worth of optics and computing into frames that, while not exactly svelte, at least don’t require a chin strap.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 26, 2026

Lou puts her hand on my shoulder and lifts my chin up so that our eyes meet.

From "Split the Sky" by Marie Arnold

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

"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

Mr. Chin looked left, looked right, and then jumped in and skied down Everest.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 16, 2026

But if hyperscalers are locking in some pricing now that’s more pegged to current levels, that could limit the rate of pricing growth in 2028, according to Chin.

From MarketWatch ● Jun. 28, 2026

While the new requirements for fully imported electric vehicles may provide some support to local car brands, Chin expects the overall impact on sales to remain limited.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 22, 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

Then Mr. Tushman came back to the podium to present the medals for academic excellence, and Jack was right: Ximena Chin won the gold medal for “overall academic excellence in the fifth grade.”

From "Wonder" by R. J. Palacio

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

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

How strange, I mused, that the conductor would invoke the legendary rebel turned emperor of the Ch'in dynasty through whom the Kings of Hell reported their doings to heaven.

From Time Magazine Archive

From Ch'in he once more turned his face toward Wei, and it was while he was on this journey that he was detained at Poo, as mentioned above.

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

“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

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

But she disliked the experience, which, she said, left the company “in hysterics — people twitching, slobber running down their chins, screaming from nerves and exhaustion.”

From New York Times ● Jun. 15, 2023

The two men who walked out felt their way carefully and scratched their rough and scrubbily-stubbled chins.

From "I, Robot" by Isaac Asimov

"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

His last ride, he got chinned on the line.

From The Guardian ● Apr. 2, 2010

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 lean, athletic man, he works out on a chinning bar and punching bag in his apartment, finds that his control is always best after a summer of swimming.

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

After chinning itself intellectually on King Lear, an audience is presumed to be so exhausted that it can only cope with the slack-jawed humors of Comedy of Errors.

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