yarn

[yahrn]

SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR yarn ON THESAURUS.COM

noun

thread made of natural or synthetic fibers and used for knitting and weaving.

a continuous strand or thread made from glass, metal, plastic, etc.

the thread, in the form of a loosely twisted aggregate of fibers, as of hemp, of which rope is made (rope yarn).

a tale, especially a long story of adventure or incredible happenings: He spun a yarn that outdid any I had ever heard.

verb (used without object)

Informal. to spin a yarn; tell stories.

Origin of yarn

before 1000; Middle English; Old English gearn; cognate with German Garn; akin to Old Norse gǫrn gut, Greek chordḗ intestine, chord¹, Lithuanian žarnà entrails, Latin hernia a rupture, Sanskrit hirā vein

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

Related Words for yarn

fleece, wool, thread, tale, anecdote, twist, lie, string, alibi, song, fable, adventure, narrative, prose, line, fabrication, potboiler

Examples from the Web for yarn

Contemporary Examples of yarn

Perhaps that's why Goldfarb didn't comment any further on his yarn.
Michael Goldfarb Doesn't Care About Facts
Ali Gharib
February 25, 2013
I was afraid to tell my story directly, wanted to couch it in a fanciful (and imitative) yarn of sex and intrigue.
‘Miracle Boy Grows Up’: Ben Mattlin Speaks to Jay McInerney
Jay McInerney
December 22, 2012
So we learned about it when Republicans raised it, and it became the latest ball of yarn for the news media.
Romney Takes Advantage of Democrats’ Israel Gaffe
Lloyd Grove
September 6, 2012
In other words, he took substantial liberties with the facts to improve the yarn.
Another Memoir Meltdown
Howard Kurtz
April 18, 2011

Historical Examples of yarn

I say, Dirk, what do you s'pose all that yarn means about to-morrow night?
Ester Ried Yet Speaking
Isabella Alden
“That be damned for a yarn,” exclaimed the other in unfeigned astonishment.
The Secret Agent
Joseph Conrad
But what were the words he was singing, this yarn he was spinning in his song?
The Harbor
Ernest Poole
The yarn from the ring frame, or mule, is wound in a large cop, or on a bobbin.
The Fabric of Civilization
Anonymous
The spindles, meanwhile, are revolving rapidly, spinning the yarn.
The Fabric of Civilization
Anonymous

British Dictionary definitions for yarn

yarn

noun

a continuous twisted strand of natural or synthetic fibres, used in weaving, knitting, etc

informal a long and often involved story or account, usually telling of incredible or fantastic events

spin a yarn informal

to tell such a story
to make up or relate a series of excuses

verb

(intr) to tell such a story or stories

Word Origin for yarn

Old English gearn; related to Old High German garn yarn, Old Norse görn gut, Greek khordē string, gut

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

Word Origin and History for yarn

Old English gearn "spun fiber," from Proto-Germanic *garnan (cf. Old Norse, Old High German, German garn, Middle Dutch gaern, Dutch garen "yarn"), from PIE root *ghere- "intestine, gut, entrail" (cf. Old Norse gorn "gut," Sanskrit hira "vein; entrails," Latin hernia "rupture," Greek khorde "intestine, gut-string," Lithuanian zarna "gut"). The phrase to spin a yarn "to tell a story" is first attested 1812, from a sailors' expression, on notion of telling stories while engaged in sedentary work such as yarn-twisting.

Idioms and Phrases with yarn

yarn

see spin a yarn.