tinny

[ tin-ee ]

/ ˈtɪn i /

SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR tinny ON THESAURUS.COM

adjective, tin·ni·er, tin·ni·est.

of or like tin.

containing tin.

lacking in timbre or resonance; sounding thin or twangy: a tinny piano.

not strong or durable; flimsy; shoddy.

having the taste of tin.

Nearby words

tinnery, tinnevelly senna, tinnient, tinning, tinnitus, tinny, tinpot, tinsel, tinselly, tinselry, tinseltown

Origin of tinny

First recorded in 1545–55; tin + -y¹

Related forms

tin·ni·ly, adverbtin·ni·ness, noun

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

Examples from the Web for tinny

People listen to it on tinny cellphone speakers that are entirely inferior to what they had in lo-tech times of yore.
Comedy Is His Calling: The Brilliance of Billy Crystal|Tom Shales|April 18, 2014|DAILY BEAST
And when he tried to strike a sympathetic note with “people who are looking for work,” it came off as tinny and flat.
Why Mitt Romney Is Winning, and Rick Perry Is Losing|Andrew Romano|January 3, 2012|DAILY BEAST
When he flew to the back of a chair and perched upon it, his tin feathers rattled against one another with a tinny clatter.
The Tin Woodman of Oz|L. Frank Baum
There was dead silence in the ship, save for a small, tinny voice in Joe's headphones.
Space Tug|Murray Leinster

That's only a tinny sort of glitter just now, but you should see the moon rise over it.
Mushroom Town|Oliver Onions
"They've got the big trap out of the ship," said the distant, tinny voice of the crewman.
The Giants From Outer Space|Geoff St. Reynard
The words were in English—the tinny, saw-cut English of the native-bred, and the chaplain jumped.
Kim|Rudyard Kipling

British Dictionary definitions for tinny

tinny

/ (ˈtɪnɪ) /

adjective -nier or -niest

of, relating to, or resembling tin

cheap, badly made, or shoddy

(of a sound) high, thin, and metallic

(of food or drink) flavoured with metal, as from a container

Australian informal lucky

noun plural -nies

Australian slang a can of beer

Also: tinnie Australian informal a small fishing or pleasure boat with an aluminium hull

Derived Forms

tinnily, adverbtinniness, noun

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