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:
The officer, who received minor injuries, said the leg and shin protections on his riot uniform melted.
From Barron's ● Nov. 1, 2026
As for Sesko, his fresh shin injury merely extends a lack of involvement which is being keenly felt and for which, as yet, there is no end date.
From BBC ● Oct. 13, 2026
During these visits, participants walked on a treadmill while wearing a small device on their shin.
From Science Daily ● Oct. 11, 2026
Milwaukee Brewers: Huntington Beach Marina High product Jake Bauers has suffered from shin splints almost all season, and the pain has kept him from playing the outfield lately.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 16, 2026
"One more question, Intern Deere. Do you swear that Sandy had a bruise on his shin resulting from a kick?"
From "The Westing Game" by Ellen Raskin
Eisenkot said he was briefed by the Shin Bet and the election committee, adding it was "too early to understand what happened, and whether anything happened at all".
From Barron's ● Oct. 30, 2026
People joked the council should "make an official ID for Bukangi and give a pension", Shin Seungmin said.
From BBC ● Oct. 24, 2026
People who knew the artist from one world didn’t necessarily know about the other — a divide that Gray’s wife, artist Kyungmi Shin, likened to the separation between church and state.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 20, 2026
“It falls into a gray zone,” said Shin, who is now secretary-general of the Korea Defense Forum, a think tank based in Seoul.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 29, 2026
Park’s spirit, his dignity, and his incendiary information gave Shin something that was both enthralling and unbearable: a context, a way to dream about the future.
From "Escape from Camp 14: One Man's Remarkable Odyssey from North Korea to Freedom in the West" by Blaine Harden
“If you would have,” Dolly replied, “it would have been something very natural, but I would have probably kicked you in the shins or something.”
From Salon ● Aug. 26, 2026
Each participant must wear trousers, with straw available for them to create a layer of padding on their shins.
From BBC ● May 30, 2026
The first time I saw the U.S. and Canadian women play each other live, it felt as if someone had taken a standard hockey game, given it six espressos, and kicked it in the shins.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Feb. 17, 2026
There was also the afternoon I took a shortcut through some trees and got stuck in snow up to my shins.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jan. 25, 2026
There were no windows in the basement, so she groped her way among the chairs and toys that had once seemed so familiar—now riddled with the potential for bruised toes and dinged shins.
From "The Reader" by Traci Chee
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
But a teenager who offered only his first name, Oleksandr, had shinned up the supporting pole and was tearing the sign to pieces.
From New York Times ● Nov. 13, 2022
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
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
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
Joel, more than halfway up the lightning conductor, was making good time shinning along.
From Five Little Peppers at School by Hermann Heyer
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