tine

[ tahyn ]
See synonyms for: tinetined on Thesaurus.com

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

Origin of tine

1
before 900; late Middle English tyne,Middle English tind,Old English; cognate with Old High German zint,Old Norse tindr
  • Also especially British, tyne .

Other words from tine

  • tined, adjective

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

How to use tine in a sentence

  • When the three-tined fork was the only one in common use, the blade of the knife was much more in requisition than now.

    The Etiquette of To-day | Edith B. Ordway
  • His cup and plate and saucer were of tin, and his cutlery was an iron spoon, a three-tined fork and a hunting dagger.

    Down the Mother Lode | Vivia Hemphill
  • Well grown is when the head is of great beam and is well affeted and thick tined, well high and well opened (spread).

    The Master of Game | Second Duke of York, Edward
  • This implement does not turn over the soil, and may be properly classed as a one-tined cultivator.

    The Khedive's Country | George Manville Fenn
  • When Yang Oerlang heard this he took his three-tined spear, and hastened to his temple.

British Dictionary definitions for tine

tine

/ (taɪn) /


noun
  1. a slender prong, esp of a fork

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

Origin of tine

1
Old English tind; related to Old Norse tindr, Old High German zint

Derived forms of tine

  • tined, adjective

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