tin
noun
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. Sn; 118.69; 50; 7.31 at 20°C.
tin
1 American
[tin]
/ tɪn /
noun
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tins
plural
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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. Sn; 118.69; 50; 7.31 at 20°C.
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any shallow pan, especially one used in baking.
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any pot, box, can, or other container or vessel made of tin or tin plate.
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Squash. telltale.
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Chiefly British. a hermetically sealed can containing food.
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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.
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British Slang. money.
adjective
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made or consisting of tin or tin plate.
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false; worthless; counterfeit.
a set of tin values.
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indicating the tenth event of a series, as a wedding anniversary.
verb (used with object)
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tins,
present (3rd person singular)
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tinned,
past participle, past
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tinning
present participle
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Metallurgy.
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to cover or coat with tin.
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to coat with soft solder.
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Chiefly British. to preserve or pack (especially food) in cans; can.
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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.
TIN
2
American
[tin]
/ tɪn /
noun
tin
British
/ 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°C
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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
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any container made of metallic tin
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to complete a home baking of cakes, biscuits, etc
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Also called: tinful. the contents of a tin or the amount a tin will hold
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corrugated or galvanized iron
a tin roof
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any metal regarded as cheap or flimsy
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a loaf of bread with a rectangular shape, baked in a tin
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slang money
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it lives up to expectations
verb
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to put (food, etc) into a tin or tins; preserve in a tin
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to plate or coat with tin
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to prepare (a metal) for soldering or brazing by applying a thin layer of solder to the surface
tin
Scientific
/ tĭn /
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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.
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See Periodic Table See Note at element
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
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tinsimple
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tinssimple
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have tinnedperfect
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has tinnedperfect
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am tinningprogressive
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are tinningprogressive
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is tinningprogressive
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have been tinningperfect progressive
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has been tinningperfect progressive
Past
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tinnedsimple
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had tinnedperfect
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was tinningprogressive
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were tinningprogressive
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had been tinningperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
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
Explanation
Tin is a kind of metal that is soft and silver-colored. The most common use of tin today is in solder, the hot, liquid metal that holds pipes and other metal pieces together. You may think of common items like tin foil and tin cans when you contemplate the uses of tin. Actually, so-called tin cans and tins are made of steel or other metals that are coated in tin. Before the middle of the 20th century, the foil used for covering food was made of thin sheets of tin. It was stiffer than today's foil (which is made of aluminum), and left food with a metallic, "tinny" taste.
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:
She added drivers can also keep their keys in a metal container, such as a biscuit tin, or even the microwave at home.
From BBC ● Sep. 30, 2026
Its Osetra caviar, which has racked up a 4.9 rating from more than 1,500 reviews, costs $125 for a 100g tin.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 22, 2026
China's imports of tin ore and concentrates from Myanmar in the first half of 2026 have already surpassed 2025's total at nearly 40,000 metric tonnes, Beijing's customs data shows.
From Barron's ● Sep. 10, 2026
“It was all appropriated guitar bodies which Lucien had then turned into wall sculpture by either painting or adorning them with bottle caps, glitter, tin foil, etc,” Powers wrote in Office Magazine.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 10, 2026
“There’s some fresh divinity in the tin by the sofa. Help yourself.”
From Full of Beans by Jennifer L. Holm
Your beneficiary will also need an SSN or TIN.
From Los Angeles Times ● Feb. 3, 2022
It’s highly likely that the company you work for will be able to give you the TIN.
From Encyclopedia.com ● Jun. 6, 2018
When the number is being used as identification, it is typically referred to as a TIN, and when it is being used for employment tax reporting, it’s usually referred to as an EIN.
From Encyclopedia.com ● Jun. 6, 2018
TIN SWE Rangoon, Burma Sir: Although I am not a Buddhist, I interpreted your article on the subject as an unregenerate evaluation of the antinomies of a great religion.
From Time Magazine Archive
Then may come a "tin" minute paper and pencil contest to see who can write the most words beginning or ending with TIN in the allotted ten minutes.
From Entertaining Made Easy by Emily Rose Burt
He added that Sodexo were happy to abide by police recommendations, which included no 500ml cans and that the sale of tins and alcohol should stop if there are any problems.
From BBC ● Jun. 14, 2026
As well as offering the few tins it had secured as a prize for its readers, it reported that thanks to “quiet diplomacy” between the magazine and AB Foods, negotiations are advancing.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 1, 2026
Across the city in a suburb of Beirut, kitchen shelves were stacked with sauces and tins crowded the walls as volunteers prepared green beans and fried rice balls.
From Barron's ● May 25, 2026
Frustrated by traditional candle formats, he launched a line of portable candles packaged in small, tuna-like tins designed to make “home follow you wherever you go.”
From Los Angeles Times ● May 19, 2026
The aisles are narrow, and the shelves are full of so many cans, boxes, tins, and jars.
From "Muffled" by Jennifer Gennari
She also recommends keeping dried herbs, spices and salt available as, she says, tinned food can be slightly bland.
From BBC ● Sep. 20, 2026
For those worried about whether tinned food is as nutritious as fresh food, Dr Gill says it absolutely can be used as part of a healthy diet.
From BBC ● Sep. 20, 2026
Keep foods like dried and canned beans, canned tomatoes, tinned fish, olive oil, and a variety of whole grains on hand so you always have something to cook with.
From MarketWatch ● Aug. 16, 2026
The meals of hot dogs and tinned fruit were revelatory to children used to the flavorings of ginger and kimchi: “This was straight-up American food, wholesome, facile, and inert, and we adored it.”
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 4, 2026
One day she made a stew with green beans and tinned sardines.
From "Interpreter of Maladies" by Jhumpa Lahiri
After the war in 1922, he bought the business of J. Lesher & Son and dealt in plumbing, heating, roof tinning, spouting and stoves.
From Washington Times ● Nov. 17, 2018
Most of its processes, from skinning to tinning, are now controlled by buttons, and new byproducts have led Armour in promising directions.
From Time Magazine Archive
All during summer and autumn Drought dropped into the can-makers' laps orders for hundreds of millions of cans for the meat which the Government was tinning for the unemployed.
From Time Magazine Archive
First will come hot and cold rolling mills and a tinning operation, which will cost a total of $89.8 million and have an annual capacity of 555,000 tons.
From Time Magazine Archive
Shay put her hands in her pockets and spread her arms, tinning her dorm’s team jacket into a sail.
From "Uglies" by Scott Westerfeld
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.
