tin

[ tin ]

/ tɪn /

SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR tin ON THESAURUS.COM

noun

Chemistry. a low-melting, malleable, ductile metallic element nearly approaching silver in color and luster: used in plating and in making alloys, tinfoil, and soft solders. Symbol: Sn; atomic weight: 118.69; atomic number: 50; specific gravity: 7.31 at 20°C.

tin plate.

any shallow pan, especially one used in baking.

any pot, box, can, or other container or vessel made of tin or tin plate.

Squash. telltale(def 8).

Chiefly British. a hermetically sealed can containing food.

Slang. a small quantity of an illicit drug, especially from two to five grams of cocaine: usually sold in a small plastic bag, a glassine envelope, or often a small tin container.

British Slang. money.

adjective

made or consisting of tin or tin plate.

false; worthless; counterfeit: a set of tin values.

indicating the tenth event of a series, as a wedding anniversary.

verb (used with object), tinned, tin·ning.

Metallurgy.

to cover or coat with tin.
to coat with soft solder.

Chiefly British. to preserve or pack (especially food) in cans; can.

to cover (windows and doors in an abandoned or unoccupied building or apartment) with sheets of tin to prevent vandalism or occupancy by vagrants, squatters, etc.

Nearby words

timpanum, timrod, timrod, henry, timucu, timur, tin, tin can, tin cup, tin difluoride, tin ear, tin fish

Origin of tin

before 900; (noun) Middle English, Old English; cognate with Dutch, Old Norse tin, German Zinn; (v.) Middle English tinnen, derivative of the noun

Related formstin·like, adjectivere·tin, verb (used with object), re·tinned, re·tin·ning.

Definition for tin (2 of 2)

TIN

[ tin ]

/ tɪn /

noun

taxpayer identification number.

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Examples from the Web for tin

The raw materials— tin, tantalum, tungsten and gold—were dubbed “conflict minerals.”
Aaron Rodgers Takes Aim at Congo’s ‘Blood Minerals’ War|John Prendergast|December 3, 2014|DAILY BEAST
One and all, they come shaking their tin cups at election time then run like the wind when a critical vote comes up.
How the Lame Democrats Blew It|Goldie Taylor|November 5, 2014|DAILY BEAST
“I have personally been to gold recyclers in Japan, tin smelters in Indonesia and fold refiners in Canada,” she said.
Helter Smelter No More: Moving to Conflict Free Minerals|Intel|June 26, 2014|DAILY BEAST
In China, for example, tungsten, tantalum, tin and gold are mined and ore is imported from other countries.
Helter Smelter No More: Moving to Conflict Free Minerals|Intel|June 26, 2014|DAILY BEAST

I had to retrieve the tin from a special compacter before it was crushed, an exercise in timing.
Tales of a Jailhouse Gourmet: How I learned to Cook in Prison|Daniel Genis|June 21, 2014|DAILY BEAST
Another good precaution is to store bags in an ordinary lard pail or can or other tin vessel having a closely fitting cover.
Every Step in Canning|Grace Viall Gray
Slate quarries and copper and tin mines were formerly valuable.
Encyclopaedia Britannica, 11th Edition, Volume 2, Slice 7|Various
They gather round the spot where the tin stood and peer into the ground, as though some sprite had bewitched it into the earth.
Sidelights on Chinese Life|J. Macgowan
Two of the boys passed round a pail of water and a tin cup, that all the thirsty might drink.
Glengarry Schooldays|Ralph Connor
Has a core of lead and tin composition inclosed in a jacket of cupro-nickel.
The Plattsburg Manual|O.O. Ellis and E.B. Garey

British Dictionary definitions for tin

tin

/ (tɪn) /

noun

a metallic element, occurring in cassiterite, that has several allotropes; the ordinary malleable silvery-white metal slowly changes below 13.2°C to a grey powder. It is used extensively in alloys, esp bronze and pewter, and as a noncorroding coating for steel. Symbol: Sn; atomic no: 50; atomic wt: 118.710; valency: 2 or 4; relative density: 5.75 (grey), 7.31 (white); melting pt: 231.9°C; boiling pt: 2603°CRelated adjectives: stannic, stannous

Also called (esp US and Canadian): can an airtight sealed container of thin sheet metal coated with tin, used for preserving and storing food or drink

any container made of metallic tin

fill her tins NZ to complete a home baking of cakes, biscuits, etc

Also called: tinful the contents of a tin or the amount a tin will hold

British, Australian and NZ corrugated or galvanized irona tin roof

any metal regarded as cheap or flimsy

British a loaf of bread with a rectangular shape, baked in a tin

slang money

it does exactly what it says on the tin it lives up to expectations

verb tins, tinning or tinned (tr)

to put (food, etc) into a tin or tins; preserve in a tin

to plate or coat with tin

to prepare (a metal) for soldering or brazing by applying a thin layer of solder to the surface

Derived Formstinlike, adjective

Word Origin for tin

Old English; related to Old Norse tin, Old High German zin

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

Word Origin and History for tin

tin

Old English tin, from Proto-Germanic *tinom (cf. Middle Dutch and Dutch tin, Old High German zin, German Zinn, Old Norse tin), of unknown origin, not found outside Germanic.

Other Indo-European languages often have separate words for "tin" as a raw metal and "tin plate;" e.g. French étain, fer-blanc. Pliny refers to tin as plumbum album "white lead," and for centuries it was regarded as a form of silver debased by lead.

The chemical symbol Sn is from Late Latin stannum (see stannic). Tin-type in photography is from 1864. Tin ear "lack of musical discernment" is from 1909. Tin Lizzie "early Ford, especially a Model T," first recorded 1915.

Medicine definitions for tin

tin

[ tĭn ]

n. Symbol Sn

A malleable metallic element used to coat other metals to prevent corrosion. Atomic number 50.

Science definitions for tin

tin

[ tĭn ]

Sn

A malleable, silvery metallic element that occurs in igneous rocks. It has a crystalline structure and crackles when bent. Tin is used as an anticorrosion agent and is a part of numerous alloys, including bronze. Atomic number 50; atomic weight 118.71; melting point 231.89°C; boiling point 2,270°C; specific gravity 7.31; valence 2, 4. See Periodic Table. See Note at element.

tin

noun

adjective

verb (used with object), tinned, tin·ning.

RELATED WORDS

Nearby words

Origin of tin

Definition for tin (2 of 2)

TIN

noun

Examples from the Web for tin

British Dictionary definitions for tin

tin

noun

verb tins, tinning or tinned (tr)

Word Origin for tin

Word Origin and History for tin

tin

Medicine definitions for tin

tin

n. Symbol Sn

Science definitions for tin

tin

Sn