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.
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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:
“I have such fond memories in this quintessential New York apartment with the exposed brick, tin ceilings and many original pre-war features.”
From MarketWatch ● Oct. 30, 2026
They looked like tiny illustrations of fish pulled from the label of a particularly fancy tin of sardines, with hooks attached.
From Salon ● Oct. 11, 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
"I thought it was another bit of tin foil to begin with, and I just saw a flash of gold and dug a little bit around it," he said.
From BBC ● Sep. 17, 2026
Most of them won’t be able to stand up, there’s going to be no privacy, and beneath the summer sun and the tin roof, it’s hot as the devil’s stove up here.
From "The Light in Hidden Places" by Sharon Cameron
Your beneficiary will also need an SSN or TIN.
From Los Angeles Times ● Feb. 3, 2022
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
It’s highly likely that the company you work for will be able to give you the TIN.
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
TIN CANS.—Size of sheet for from 1 to 100 gallons: For 1 gallon 7 by 20 ins.
From One Thousand Secrets of Wise and Rich Men Revealed by C. A. Bogardus
"I've found tins of Heinz baked beans, perfectly fine. I'm quite happy to eat those," Charlotte says.
From BBC ● Nov. 3, 2026
Cavi, which calls itself “The People’s Caviar,” sells 125g tins of Osetra for $269.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 22, 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
Bright teardrop earrings hang from metal tins filled with Japanese cooling beads.
From Los Angeles Times ● May 18, 2026
Now I can see him take in the actuality: the piled boxes and rusty tins, the clothing in various states of rumpled.
From "The Brightwood Code" by Monica Hesse
Sales of tinned food, radios and torches spiked in some shops after the UK government advised households what to stock up on in case of a national emergency.
From BBC ● Oct. 31, 2026
The storm came as the government released general advice for households to stock up on tinned food and bottled water in order to be prepared for emergencies.
From BBC ● Oct. 23, 2026
Crates of tinned food sit in a pantry ready to be shipped off to local food banks.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 12, 2026
Gill says look out for salt and sugar content when buying tinned items:
From BBC ● Sep. 20, 2026
We explain that we are the guard and so know our way about, we get hold of the tinned stuff and exchange it for things we are short of.
From "All Quiet on the Western Front: A Novel" by Erich Maria Remarque
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
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
Through its encouragement of the tinning industry, it helped make tinned meat a part of the British diet; through its public lectures, it introduced the nation to such modern wonders as the Edison phonograph.
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
“Come in,” she called, tinning her face toward the door.
From "The Awakening" by Kate Chopin
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