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

tinny

adjective, tin·ni·er, tin·ni·est.

RELATED WORDS

Nearby words

Origin of tinny

Related forms

Examples from the Web for tinny

British Dictionary definitions for tinny

tinny

adjective -nier or -niest

noun plural -nies

Derived Forms