shin
noun
the front part of the leg from the knee to the ankle.
shin
1 American
[shin]
/ ʃɪn /
noun
-
the front part of the leg from the knee to the ankle.
-
the lower part of the foreleg in cattle.
-
the shinbone or tibia, especially its sharp edge or front portion.
-
Chiefly British. a cut of beef similar to the U.S. shank, usually cut into small pieces for stewing.
verb (used with or without object)
-
shins,
present (3rd person singular)
-
shinned,
past participle, past
-
shinning
present participle
shin
2
American
[sheen, shin]
/ ʃin, ʃɪn /
noun
-
the 21st letter of the Hebrew alphabet.
-
the consonant sound represented by this letter.
shīn
3
American
[sheen]
/ ʃin /
noun
Shin
4
American
[shin, sheen]
/ ʃɪn, ʃin /
noun
Buddhism.
shin
1
British
/ ʃɪn /
noun
-
the front part of the lower leg
-
the front edge of the tibia
-
a cut of beef, the lower foreleg
verb
-
to climb (a pole, tree, etc) by gripping with the hands or arms and the legs and hauling oneself up
-
(tr) to kick (a person) in the shins
shin
2
British
/ ʃɪn /
noun
Other Word Forms
Inflected Forms
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
-
shinsimple
-
shinssimple
-
have shinnedperfect
-
has shinnedperfect
-
am shinningprogressive
-
are shinningprogressive
-
is shinningprogressive
-
have been shinningperfect progressive
-
has been shinningperfect progressive
Past
-
shinnedsimple
-
had shinnedperfect
-
was shinningprogressive
-
were shinningprogressive
-
had been shinningperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of shin1
before 1000; Middle English shine, Old English scinu; cognate with Dutch scheen, German Schien ( bein )
Origin of shin2
1895–1900; < Hebrew shīn, akin to shēn tooth
Origin of shīn3
From Arabic
Origin of Shin4
1895–1900; < Japanese: literally, faith < Middle Chinese, equivalent to Chinese zhēn truth
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
See Examples For:
Alabi went on to suffer a season-ending shin injury in January, but former head coach Eddie Howe backed the teenager to have a bright future if he continued to work hard.
From BBC ● Aug. 4, 2026
You have soccer cranks who didn’t care about the sport 24 hours ago ready to march in the streets wearing shin guards and a full red-striped Waldo kit.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 2, 2026
But the thigh is not the concern this week, with sources indicating that Raducanu has a shin problem.
From BBC ● Jun. 25, 2026
The State Department just announced an overseas “sports diplomacy” initiative with the UFC—arm bars and shin kicks for hearts and minds.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 15, 2026
He leaned against my shin for a moment, then extended his arms to be picked up.
From "Endangered" by Eliot Schrefer
Japan's Shin Miidera, a 16-year-old attacker playing for partner club Yokohama F. Marinos, is another CFG are monitoring very closely.
From BBC ● Aug. 23, 2026
Israeli President Isaac Herzog said in late July that the Shin Bet domestic security service had warned him of "various threats to the integrity of the elections, both internal and external".
From Barron's ● Aug. 19, 2026
The Bank of Korea is also set to revise up its 2026 growth forecast of 2.6% for the country next month, BOK Gov. Shin Hyun-song said at a policy meeting last week.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 22, 2026
Nongshim Shin Ramyun is another one of my favorites, as the noodles are made to be enjoyed in a spicy soup.
From Salon ● Jul. 19, 2026
Indeed, just two people other than Shin are known to have escaped from any political prison camp in North Korea and made it to the West.
From "Escape from Camp 14: One Man's Remarkable Odyssey from North Korea to Freedom in the West" by Blaine Harden
In slalom, racers typically knock down gates with their arms or shins, which are protected by plastic shin guards.
From Los Angeles Times ● Feb. 15, 2026
Gilgeous-Alexander was sidelined by a sprained ankle while Holmgren was nursing sore shins, both joining Isaiah Hartenstein and Jaylin Williams on OKC's injured list.
From Barron's ● Jan. 10, 2026
That helped later in life when the professional-sports business dealt him the financial equivalent of a kick in the shins.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Dec. 9, 2025
But the Belgian probably has as much to thank goalkeeper Jack Butland, a fair share of luck and the shins of home centre-half Jamie McCart for Rangers leaving Tynecastle with all three points.
From BBC ● Feb. 16, 2025
A swarm of bothersome flies buzzed in front of his face and landed on the tips of his ears, on his cheeks, on his shins, on his elbows.
From "Healer of the Water Monster" by Brian Young
And the 37-year-old settled the game when he shinned Lamine Yamal's header across goal and past his own keeper.
From BBC ● Sep. 29, 2023
Clucas' effort took a deflection off the boot of Moussa Sissoko and flew into the corner, while Tymon shinned a first-time cross over Elliot's head.
From BBC ● Sep. 21, 2021
“See, it’s not difficult,” Mr. Violini, a restoration specialist at the Vatican Museums, said as he slowly shinned up the frescoed stairwell leading up to a once-private papal chapel in Rome.
From New York Times ● Apr. 10, 2019
Out went Geoff Cameron, whose shinned clearance had gifted Nani the opening goal against Portugal, and whose drop in concentration was a contributing factor, but certainly not the sole cause, in the second.
From The Guardian ● Jun. 27, 2014
“Just a few weeks ago two men offered my son, Eric, a couple of hundred dollars to locate a sharp- shinned hawk nest for them.”
From "On the Far Side of the Mountain" by Jean Craighead George
As it was, it took two set-pieces break down the visitors, with Hofmann shinning a volley through a crowded penalty area after the initial ball in was not cleared.
From BBC ● Apr. 11, 2024
"All love on my end shawty, Keep shinning!"
From Fox News ● Feb. 22, 2021
Lee chronicled the innocence and tragedy of her childhood in the classic novel, shinning a light on the Jim Crow-era South as well as injustice in a small Alabama town.
From Seattle Times ● May 29, 2019
I experienced Ustvolskaya’s magnificent chords and resonances as heat and light, while that shinning orb overhead became a giant gong.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 12, 2018
I fancy even our borrowed uniforms would not allay suspicion if the Turks spotted us shinning up the wall.
From The Fight for Constantinople A Story of the Gallipoli Peninsula by Percy F. (Percy Francis) Westerman
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
