lean
verb (used without object)
to incline or bend from a vertical position.
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to lean.
lean
1 American
[leen]
/ lin /
verb (used without object)
-
leans,
present (3rd person singular)
-
leaned,
past participle, past
-
leant,
past participle, past (especially British)
-
leaning
present participle
-
to incline or bend from a vertical position.
She leaned out the window.
-
to incline, as in a particular direction; slant.
The post leans to the left.
The building leaned sharply before renovation.
-
to incline in feeling, opinion, action, etc..
to lean toward socialism.
-
to rest against or on something for support.
to lean against a wall.
-
to depend or rely (usually followed by on orupon ).
someone he could lean on in an emergency.
verb (used with object)
-
leans,
present (3rd person singular)
-
leaned,
past participle, past
-
leant,
past participle, past (especially British)
-
leaning
present participle
-
to incline or bend.
He leaned his head forward.
-
to cause to lean or rest; prop.
to lean a chair against the railing.
noun
verb phrase
-
lean on
-
to exert influence or pressure on in order to gain cooperation, maintain discipline, or the like.
The state is leaning on the company to clean up its industrial wastes.
-
to criticize, reprimand, or punish.
I would have enjoyed school more if the teachers hadn't leaned on me so much.
-
-
lean in
-
to shift one's body weight forward or toward someone or something.
Because Don was whispering, I had to lean in so I could hear him.
He stood near home plate and leaned in for the pitch.
-
to embrace risk, be assertive, etc., as to achieve the greatest level of success in the workplace.
She really knows how to lean in—she'll have a corner office before long.
-
idioms
lean
2
American
[leen]
/ lin /
adjective
-
leaner,
comparative
-
leanest
superlative
-
(of persons or animals) without much flesh or fat; not plump or fat; thin.
lean cattle.
- Antonyms:
- fat
-
(of edible meat) containing little or no fat.
- Antonyms:
- fat
-
lacking in richness, fullness, quantity, etc.; poor.
a lean diet; lean years.
- Synonyms:
- jejune, unfruitful, barren, sparse
- Antonyms:
- fruitful
-
spare; economical.
a lean prose style.
-
Automotive. (of a mixture in a fuel system) having a relatively low ratio of fuel to air (contrasted with rich).
-
(of paint) having more pigment than oil.
-
Nautical. (of a bow) having fine lines; sharp.
-
Metallurgy. (of ore) having a low mineral content; low-grade.
noun
-
the part of flesh that consists of muscle rather than fat.
-
the lean part of anything.
-
Typesetting. matter that is difficult to set because of complexity or intermixed fonts.
Lean
3
American
[leen]
/ lin /
noun
lean
1
British
/ liːn /
adjective
-
(esp of a person or an animal) having no surplus flesh or bulk; not fat or plump
-
not bulky or full
-
(of meat) having little or no fat
-
not rich, abundant, or satisfying
-
(of a mixture of fuel and air) containing insufficient fuel and too much air
a lean mixture
-
(of printer's type) having a thin appearance
-
(of a paint) containing relatively little oil
-
(of an ore) not having a high mineral content
-
(of concrete) made with a small amount of cement
noun
lean
2
British
/ liːn /
verb
-
to rest or cause to rest against a support
-
to incline or cause to incline from a vertical position
-
(intr; foll by to or towards) to have or express a tendency or leaning
-
informal to make a special effort, esp in order to please
noun
Lean
3
British
/ liːn /
noun
Usage
What else does lean mean? Content warning: this article contains references to drug abuse. In slang, lean is a term for prescription-strength cough syrup mixed with soft drinks and candy. It’s also known by such other names as purple drank or sizzurp.
Synonym Usage
See thin.
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Adjectives
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
-
leansimple
-
leanssimple
-
have leanedperfect
-
have leantperfect
-
has leanedperfect
-
has leantperfect
-
am leaningprogressive
-
are leaningprogressive
-
is leaningprogressive
-
have been leaningperfect progressive
-
has been leaningperfect progressive
Past
-
leanedsimple
-
leantsimple
-
had leanedperfect
-
had leantperfect
-
was leaningprogressive
-
were leaningprogressive
-
had been leaningperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of lean1
First recorded before 900; Middle English lenen, Old English hleonian, hlinian; cognate with German lehnen; akin to Greek klī́nein, Latin -clīnāre “to incline ”
Origin of lean2
First recorded before 1000; Middle English lene, lein(e), Old English hlǣne
Explanation
If you lean on something, you incline your body against it, like the way you lean against a wall while waiting in line. If you lean on a person, you rely on her for moral support, like the way you lean on your best friend when you're feeling sad or worried. If you’re tired, lean back in your chair. If you’re broke, lean on your family for financial help. But something can lean all by itself, if it’s not standing straight. The famous Tower of Pisa leans at an angle of about 4 degrees. As an adjective, we use lean to describe something skimpy or lacking excess flesh. When you're experiencing financial difficulty, you could say you're going through lean (not prosperous) times.
Vocabulary lists containing lean
"Joyas Voladoras" by Brian Doyle
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Unit 2: Pivotal Words and Phrases
Interested in learning more words like this one? Our team at Vocabulary.com has got you covered! You can review flashcards, quiz yourself, practice spelling, and more – and it's all completely free to use!
Paltry Parlance: Synonyms for "Few"
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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:
We could lean on Congress and say: “Once upon a time in 1966, Congress established the statutory protection for handling gifts.”
From Slate ● Aug. 17, 2026
Instead, many people lean toward prepared foods and often eat them solo.
From MarketWatch ● Aug. 16, 2026
The company plans to lean more on creators with its new Verts vertical video feed on Disney+, a new feature designed to increase engagement.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 15, 2026
“We are organizing the Division to be lean, flat and agile, reducing excessive bureaucratic oversight so that the Fraud Division’s career prosecutors…can focus on following the facts and charging violations of the law.”
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 14, 2026
Some people could lean into it, like Phone Friend.
From "Bye Forever, I Guess" by Jodi Meadows
Lean in, though, and you’ll hear how carefully she’s building toward a feeling of complete abandon.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 9, 2026
Shopkeeper Dayana Lean, 51, said that "zones one and three" of the complex were the hardest hit.
From Barron's ● Jun. 29, 2026
Much of his scorn, for example, is directed at the millennial Lean In crowd that wanted women to be more like successful men—ambitious and loud.
From Slate ● Jun. 18, 2026
Or Sheryl Sandberg, whose Lean In Foundation now hawks AI to women; in March, Sandberg joined the board of directors of Nscale, a British data-center startup.
From Salon ● Jun. 10, 2026
Lean over here so I can whisper in your ear.
From "Angela's Ashes: A Memoir" by Frank McCourt
Northern sled dogs became compact and heavily coated for cold conditions, while hunting dogs near the equator tended to be leaner and better suited to heat.
From Science Daily ● Aug. 10, 2026
Boeing is getting leaner — and in the process, Archer Aviation’s stock is getting a big boost.
From MarketWatch ● Aug. 10, 2026
Rather than explain how a leaner fish or one packed in oil might change the cake, the recipe simply expands to encompass nearly anything.
From Salon ● Aug. 5, 2026
Unlike the Hollywood Bowl, which has fleets of shuttles ready to go, F&M Bank Amphitheater’s shuttle operation felt a bit leaner.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 5, 2026
Tank is around the same height as Ziggy, but a lot leaner.
From "A Soft Place to Land" by Janae Marks
The CEO concentrated the business, exiting less productive properties and dumping an in-house service arm, and set out a mission to make Pioneer the leanest, profitable and most desirable catch among U.S. shale independents.
From Reuters ● Oct. 16, 2023
It's not a lie - I was never the leanest cricketer in the world, but I won games for franchises.
From BBC ● Jun. 5, 2023
The Discovery missions are the leanest, with a cost cap of $450 million.
From Scientific American ● Aug. 2, 2022
Because this is the leanest part of the pig, baby back ribs have very little fat, and plenty of meat to douse with copious amounts of sweet, sticky sauce.
From Washington Post ● Jul. 8, 2022
Study after study shows that the leanest curriculums are being offered in the highest-poverty areas, despite ample evidence that this is exactly the wrong thing to do.
From "Drama High" by Michael Sokolove
This version leans hard into fresh corn, still in its cool green husks and already smelling sweet before you cut it from the cob.
From Salon ● Aug. 16, 2026
Blanche leans on Williams’ concession that she cannot void the private contract.
From Slate ● Aug. 10, 2026
Vimalakirti leans over the edge of his canopied bed with an impatient stare, as he argues that it is possible to enjoy earthly life while still abiding by Buddhist nonattachment.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 31, 2026
Long-running pop-up event Fork N’ Film leans more dinner and movie, pairing dishes directly inspired by what is happening on screen.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 8, 2026
Ruby leans over and says, “Shh, don’t cry, it’s okay. You don’t have to tell me anything until you’re ready. There’s a math assignment that I’m trying to avoid, so take your time,” she teases.
From "Split the Sky" by Marie Arnold
Mangione leaned into the microphone before him and stated: "Guilty."
From BBC ● Aug. 14, 2026
At firms that leaned into AI, senior-level roles jumped 31%, while junior-level roles increased by 6%, Revelio Labs found.
From MarketWatch ● Aug. 10, 2026
During the campaign, he leaned heavily into his self-proclaimed nickname "The Tiger," sharing AI-generated images of himself as a fanged tiger and the only candidate willing to wage war on crime and insurgency.
From Barron's ● Aug. 7, 2026
Instead, the show’s costume department leaned into a “late ’70s, transitional, mauve-y, gray-bluish” color palette, according to costume designer and co-executive producer Lou Eyrich, a longtime collaborator with Murphy.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 5, 2026
He leaned against the steering wheel, whistling, listening to the local radio as it called out bingo numbers—he was one of the few band members who didn’t play often.
From "Legendary Frybread Drive-In" by Cynthia Leitich Smith
She leant heavily on caddie Jason McDede to ensure she landed the title she most coveted.
From BBC ● Jun. 8, 2026
Researchers said the work also leant further credence to a theory about humpback whale patterns known as the "Southern Ocean Exchange".
From Barron's ● May 20, 2026
The family also claims the new authorities have leant on the courts to find them guilty.
From Barron's ● Nov. 12, 2025
It leant the audience a discerning sense of agency, as we could control the show but only to a point.
From Los Angeles Times ● May 6, 2025
It was as though he leant against the side of a ship, and I stood below him on the quay.
From "Rebecca" by Daphne du Maurier
The younger Bush was different, leaning into his sun-baked upbringing while keeping one boot firmly back East.
From Salon ● Aug. 16, 2026
“The problem is, I don’t necessarily know how to do anything unless I’m being vulnerable, or leaning into some sort of thing that makes me feel uncomfortable,” he said.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 10, 2026
McClary says leaning into MySpace's music identity could be a smart move, from profile songs to 2000s-themed festivals and merchandise.
From BBC ● Aug. 9, 2026
It was the last night of my hotel hopping and I was strongly leaning toward the Hilton Rome at the airport for ease.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 7, 2026
Everybody was leaning forward in anticipation, waiting for Kathy to start.
From "Legendary Frybread Drive-In" by Cynthia Leitich Smith
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
