tine

American  

[tahyn] / taɪn /

especially British, tyne

noun

• tines
  plural

1. a sharp, projecting point or prong, as of a fork.

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tine British  

/ taɪn /

noun

1. a slender prong, esp of a fork

2. any of the sharp terminal branches of a deer's antler

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Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• tined
  adjective

Inflected Forms

Nouns

• tines
  plural

Etymology

Origin of tine

before 900; late Middle English tyne, Middle English tind, Old English; cognate with Old High German zint, Old Norse tindr

Explanation

A tine is a prong, or a point. When you were little, you may have lined up your peas on the tines of your fork despite your parents telling you not to play with your food. The tines of a fork are what make it possible to spear pieces of food with it. Other objects with similarly sharp points can also be described as having tines — like a pitchfork or the antler of a deer. The pointed end on a dental tool is also called a tine. The origins of the word tine can be traced back to the Old English tind, which means "sharp point," and is related to the German word Zinne, or "pinnacle."

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

tine tines

Pull out the black vein using the tine of a fork or the point of a bamboo skewer.

From Salon ● Jul. 18, 2023

Differences in the concentrations of an odorant sensed by each tine of a snake’s forked tongue help the snake home in on quarry it can’t see.

From Science Magazine ● May 24, 2023

And Kareem and programs like Kareem’s is one tine on the fork.

From Los Angeles Times ● Feb. 13, 2023

Russell made 11 of 12 field goals and 4 of 5 3-pointers to help the Timberwolves beat the Thunder for second tine in three nights.

From Seattle Times ● Jan. 7, 2022

I put the knife through the second tine, as we had been strictly taught, and began to saw against the bone.

From "I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings" by Maya Angelou

In Tayari Jones’s novel, two childhood friends in 1950s Louisiana take “different tines at the fork in the road.”

From The Wall Street Journal ● Feb. 27, 2026

The complaints roll in: The fork tines are too stubby, the dessert spoon holds its contents hostage.

From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 14, 2025

The stag's antlers, now fully hardened and velvet‑free, regrow each spring, becoming more impressive with each year as new points called tines develop.

From BBC ● Aug. 26, 2025

“This sounds trite at this point, but in true Italian-American style, some of my earliest memories are helping my nonna roll gnocchi down the tines of a fork,” she said.

From Salon ● Jul. 23, 2024

Red bits of Sloppy Joe dripped from the tines.

From "All American Boys" by Jason Reynolds