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:
With the final ball of the first over, Archer pinned New Zealand captain Tom Latham on the shin and barely turned around to appeal.
From BBC ● Jun. 27, 2026
During these sessions, participants walked on a treadmill while wearing a device on the shin that provided vibration feedback.
From Science Daily ● May 22, 2026
Work paused frequently as workers uncovered thousands of fossils, including a 2-foot bison horn and camel shin bone, dating back to the Ice Age.
From Los Angeles Times ● May 7, 2026
Elvis put a shin pad under his pants leg, and I took a couple of practice shots—until he was sure I wouldn’t miss and injure him.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Mar. 17, 2026
I’m so excited, I fall down again and crack another shin but I don’t even care that it hurts because I got a fish on the line.
From "The Young Man and the Sea" by Rodman Philbrick
Al Fayed bought Balnagown in 1972 and also Sutherland's Falls of Shin Visitor Centre, which was damaged by fire in 2013.
From BBC ● Jul. 26, 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
South Korea fan Ben Lee was performing soccer kick-ups with a pack of Shin Noodles when he saw Kevin Gonzalez walk by in a Mexico shirt and offered him a fist bump.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 19, 2026
Even with Seoul’s cost-relief measures easing some of the pressure, inflation in Korea is likely to remain above target for some time, Shin said.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 12, 2026
By late December, when Shin and Park were planning their escape, Shin’s winter-season pants had holes in the knees and in the seat.
From "Escape from Camp 14: One Man's Remarkable Odyssey from North Korea to Freedom in the West" by Blaine Harden
Each participant must wear trousers, with straw available for them to create a layer of padding on their shins.
From BBC ● May 30, 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
He picked up the mount after his original Derby horse, Reflected Glory, couldn’t make the race because of sore shins.
From Seattle Times ● Nov. 17, 2023
Blue veins like lumpy knitting running up her translucent shins.
From "The God of Small Things" by Arundhati Roy
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
The prairie falcon and the sharp- shinned hawk were there, too.
From "Frightful's 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
The 16-year-old was signed in December after shinning in Tacoma Defiance matches last year.
From Seattle Times ● Feb. 17, 2022
"All love on my end shawty, Keep shinning!"
From Fox News ● Feb. 22, 2021
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 scraped 'em off, shinning up the tree," said Merton, sadly.
From Margaret Montfort by Barry, Etheldred B. (Etheldred Breeze)
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.
