sin
noun
transgression of divine law.
sin
1 American
[sin]
/ sɪn /
noun
-
transgression of divine law.
the sin of Adam.
-
any act regarded as such a transgression, especially a willful or deliberate violation of some religious or moral principle.
- Synonyms:
- wickedness, wrong
-
any reprehensible or regrettable action, behavior, lapse, etc.; great fault or offense.
It's a sin to waste time.
verb (used without object)
-
sins,
present (3rd person singular)
-
sinned,
past participle, past
-
sinning
present participle
-
to commit a sinful act.
- Synonyms:
- trespass, transgress
-
to offend against a principle, standard, etc.
verb (used with object)
-
sins,
present (3rd person singular)
-
sinned,
past participle, past
-
sinning
present participle
-
to commit or perform sinfully.
He sinned his crimes without compunction.
-
to bring, drive, etc., by sinning.
He sinned his soul to perdition.
sin
2
American
[seen]
/ sin /
noun
-
the 22nd letter of the Hebrew alphabet.
-
the consonant sound represented by this letter.
sin
3
American
abbreviation
Trigonometry.
sīn
4
American
[seen]
/ sin /
noun
Sin
5
American
[seen]
/ sin /
noun
sin
1
British
/ sɪn /
noun
-
theol
-
transgression of God's known will or any principle or law regarded as embodying this
-
the condition of estrangement from God arising from such transgression See also actual sin mortal sin original sin venial sin
-
-
any serious offence, as against a religious or moral principle
-
any offence against a principle or standard
-
informal (of an unmarried couple) to live together
verb
-
theol to commit a sin
-
(usually foll by against) to commit an offence (against a person, principle, etc)
SIN
2
British
abbreviation
sin
3
British
/ saɪn /
abbreviation
sin
4
British
/ sɪn /
preposition
sin
5
British
/ siːn /
noun
sin
Scientific
sin
Idioms
Synonym Usage
See crime.
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
-
sinsimple
-
sinssimple
-
have sinnedperfect
-
has sinnedperfect
-
am sinningprogressive
-
are sinningprogressive
-
is sinningprogressive
-
have been sinningperfect progressive
-
has been sinningperfect progressive
Past
-
sinnedsimple
-
had sinnedperfect
-
was sinningprogressive
-
were sinningprogressive
-
had been sinningperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of sin1
First recorded before 900; Middle English noun sinne, sin(e), sen(ne), Old English syn(n) “moral or religious offense, misdeed”; akin to German Sünde, Old Norse synd, Latin sōns (inflectional stem sont- ) “guilty,” literally “that man being the one”; the verb is derivative of the noun; the Germanic and Latin forms all being present participle forms of the root es- “to be”; see origin at am ( def. )
Origin of sin2
First recorded in 1895–1900; from Hebrew śīn
Origin of sīn4
From Arabic
Explanation
You might not want to be the one at the party who takes the last piece of cake, but then again, it would be a sin to let it sit there, uneaten. A sin is a deeply regrettable action. The most common definition of sin is religious: it's an immoral act against God or divine law. Any serious offense, even if it's not religious, can be called a sin, and so can something less serious if you're talking about it in a joking way, as in, "You've got to buy those shoes — it would be an absolute sin not to." In math, sin is the abbreviation of sine, the trigonometric function.
Vocabulary lists containing sin
"We Real Cool" by Gwendolyn Brooks
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"The New England Primer"
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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:
To squander that enthusiasm would be a sin.
From Slate ● Nov. 5, 2026
Even with replacement prop Mona Lisa Tupou being sent to the sin bin for a scrum infringement, their resistance and physicality stayed high and was rewarded with Zackary's late score.
From BBC ● Oct. 30, 2026
Her biggest sin is perhaps being too protective of him and overly involved in his life.
From Salon ● Oct. 30, 2026
But he shouldn’t be let off so easy, because he committed another sin that too many Angelenos are guilty of:
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 18, 2026
A curse seemed to hang over the family, making men sin in spite of themselves and bringing suffering and death down upon the innocent as well as the guilty.
From "Mythology: Timeless Tales of Gods and Heroes" by Edith Hamilton
The present participle with sīn is sometimes used as in English, see ‘Arme Heinrich,’ l. 24.
From A Middle High German Primer Third Edition by Joseph Wright
Sine, sīn, n. a straight line drawn from one extremity of an arc perpendicular to the diameter that passes through the other extremity.
From Chambers's Twentieth Century Dictionary (part 4 of 4: S-Z and supplements) by Various
Dō brāhte man die vrouwen dā si in ligen vant. si huop sīn schœne houbet mit ir vil wīȥen hant; dō kuste s’ alsō tōten den edelen ritter guot.
From A Middle High German Primer Third Edition by Joseph Wright
I, sink, 76. sigenunft, sf. victory. sīhte, aj. shallow. silber, sn. silver. sim = si im. sin, sm. sense, mind, feeling; courage. sīn, pr. his; sīn sëlbes, of himself, 5, 11, 67.
From A Middle High German Primer Third Edition by Joseph Wright
Sigvaldi jarl lēt skotta við sīn skip, ok lagði ekki til orrostu.
From Icelandic Primer with Grammar, Notes and Glossary by Henry Sweet
Few of those selected for this tournament bear the scars of that encounter, with a youthful and dynamic squad featuring only six of the team from the Sin City debacle.
From BBC ● Oct. 23, 2026
Russell T. Davies, the Swansea-born writer behind shows including Doctor Who and Channel 4's It's a Sin, also said online that he "can't wait".
From BBC ● Sep. 2, 2026
Over the past two decades, Sin City has cut its water consumption by a third, by promoting wastewater recycling and restricting lawn watering and swimming pool sizes.
From Barron's ● Aug. 27, 2026
Once in Sin City, Aiyedatiwa skipped the casinos—the trip itself was already a gamble.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 13, 2026
He didn’t mention Sin on Sunday, but I could feel the words hanging in the air.
From "Cold Sassy Tree" by Olive Ann Burns
Pura Casilla, the governor of San Cristobal province, told Noticias SIN that the explosion occurred in a commercial area and greatly affected businesses near the town center.
From Seattle Times ● Aug. 15, 2023
The description for the folder Correspondence SIN reads:
From The Guardian ● Mar. 23, 2017
On most calculators, you will need to push the 2ND button and then the SIN button to bring up the function.
From Textbooks ● Feb. 13, 2015
Having SIN coordinate her workout schedule “keeps me on the straight and narrow!” she exclaimed.
From New York Times ● Dec. 17, 2014
"Black Hand over Europe" by Henri Pozzi, 1935 THE SIN Yugoslavia was born in sin and in sin it perished.
From Terrorists and Freedom Fighters by Samuel Vaknin
So Japan is acting the most responsibly at the moment, whatever its past sins.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 2, 2026
Thomas has spoken publicly about his new-found faith: "I have repented my sins and, under Jesus Christ, I am a new man."
From BBC ● Sep. 11, 2026
But while your brother’s lack of money management appears to have led your mother to make this gesture, it’s also important not to punish his children for the sins of their father.
From MarketWatch ● Sep. 10, 2026
O’Brien sees the Nazi allegations as falsehoods that steal attention from the actor’s actual sins.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 2, 2026
Maybe I don’t want my sins washed away, either.
From "P.S. I Miss You" by Jen Petro-Roy
Eve then offers the fruit to Adam, and, having both sinned, they realize their nakedness, are ashamed and make clothing.
From Salon ● May 17, 2026
“I have sinned, I have broken the law, and I have no excuses,” Sister Mary Margaret Kreuper, the former principal of St. James Catholic School, told the judge.
From Los Angeles Times ● Feb. 7, 2022
“I have sinned, I’ve broken the law and I have no excuses,” Kreuper said via teleconference.
From Seattle Times ● Feb. 7, 2022
In 2018, the board, which has a tarnished recent history, reciprocated his antagonism, censuring him for having sinned against collegiality by things he had said and done.
From Washington Post ● Oct. 27, 2021
Bless me, Father, for I have sinned, it’s a fortnight since my last confession.
From "Angela's Ashes: A Memoir" by Frank McCourt
His Adam is aptly named; he’s a biblical kind of hero, sinning and suffering.
From Los Angeles Times ● May 2, 2023
Crusaders came to expect standard privileges like the indulgence, a means to reduce the penance owed for sinning by giving money directly to the church or paying for masses or other clerical services.
From Textbooks ● Apr. 19, 2023
He insists he is a man more sinned against than sinning and is working with lawyers to clear his name.
From BBC ● Jul. 13, 2021
I’ve been oppressed by all these facts and evidence that dinned against My simple claim that I am not more sinning than I’m sinned against.
From Washington Post ● Jul. 7, 2021
I never sinning I always winning Now I got Jesus.
From "A Confederacy of Dunces" by John Kennedy Toole
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