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tain

American  
[teyn] / teɪn /

noun

  1. a thin tin plate.

  2. tin foil for the backs of mirrors.


tain British  
/ teɪn /

noun

  1. tinfoil used in backing mirrors

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Etymology

Origin of tain

1855–60; < French: silvering, foil, aphetic variant of étain tin

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.

So at a cer tain point along the way I got over it and just regarded it as a literary problem and an opportunity.

From Slate • Feb. 6, 2020

But one thing was cer tain: General Hodges would not be moving as he was unless he could move with certainty.

From Time Magazine Archive

Guest Star Harry Belafonte had overcome his initial queasiness at working with shaggy short people and had sung The Banana Boat Song with spirit, even though Cap tain Link Hogthrob pigged one of the bananas.

From Time Magazine Archive

Engel's work in "autonomic shaping" has enabled him to alter heart rates and rhythms to alleviate irregular heart beats and high blood pressure in cer tain patients.

From Time Magazine Archive

And the magic flowed and flowed from the old witch into the new, the way water flows down the mourn tain.

From "The Girl Who Drank the Moon" by Kelly Barnhill

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