thin

[[t]θɪ̱n[/t]]

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thinner, thinnest, thins, thinning, thinned

1) ADJ-GRADED Something that is thin is much narrower than it is long.

A thin cable carries the signal to a computer...

James's face was thin, finely boned, and sensitive.

2) ADJ-GRADED A person or animal that is thin has no extra fat on their body .

He was a tall, thin man with grey hair that fell in a wild tangle to his shoulders...

He is small and very thin and has pale-white skin.

Derived words:

thinness N-UNCOUNT

There was something familiar about him, his fawn raincoat, his thinness, the way he moved.

3) ADJ-GRADED Something such as paper or cloth that is thin is flat and has only a very small distance between its two opposite surfaces.

...a small, blue-bound book printed in fine type on thin paper...

A thin layer of topsoil was swept away.

Ant:

thick

Derived words:

thinly ADV-GRADED ADV with v

Peel and thinly slice the onion...

Roll the pasta out as thinly as possible.

4) ADJ-GRADED Liquids that are thin are weak and watery.

The soup was thin and clear, yet mysteriously rich...

They are stirring huge pots of rice and thin vegetable soup over a fire made of charcoal.

Ant:

thick

5) ADJ-GRADED A crowd or audience that is thin does not have many people in it.

The crowd, which had been thin for the first half of the race, had now grown considerably.

Derived words:

thinly ADV-GRADED ADV -ed

The island is thinly populated.

...thinly attended meetings.

6) ADJ-GRADED: usu ADJ n A thin smile is one that is not friendly or humorous.

All she could manage was a thin, wan smile.

Derived words:

thinly ADV-GRADED ADV after v

Wilson smiled thinly. `We have decided to name the new Home after Councillor Minford.'

7) ADJ-GRADED Thin clothes are made from light cloth and are not warm to wear.

Her gown was thin, and she shivered, partly from cold.

Derived words:

thinly ADV-GRADED ADV adj/-ed

Mrs Brown wrapped the thinly clad man in her own fur coat and very likely saved his life.

8) ADJ-GRADED If you describe an argument or explanation as thin, you mean that it is weak and difficult to believe.

However, the evidence is thin and, to some extent, ambiguous...

Even if the optimists' theory is true, it still seems a thin argument against reform.

Syn:

weak

Ant:

strong

Derived words:

thinly ADV usu ADV -ed, also ADV before v

Much of the speech was a thinly disguised attack on British Airways.

...a series of what correspondents describe as thinly veiled threats to use force.

9) ADJ-GRADED A voice or sound that is thin is high-pitched and not very loud.

Her thin voice rose high in complaint.

10) ADJ-GRADED If someone's hair is described as thin, they do not have a lot of hair.

She had pale thin yellow hair she pulled back into a bun.

Ant:

thick

11) V-ERG When you thin something or if it thins, it becomes less crowded because people or things have been removed from it.

[V n] It would have been better to have thinned the trees over several winters rather than all at one time...

By midnight the crowd had thinned.

PHR-V-ERG

Thin out means the same as thin.

V P n (not pron) NATO will continue to thin out its forces... V P When the crowd began to thin out, I realized that most of the food was still there... Also V n P V P Further up the river, the vineyards start to thin out and the orange groves and almond trees take over.

12) VERB To thin a sauce or liquid means to make it weaker and more watery by adding another liquid to it.

[V n] It may be necessary to thin the sauce slightly...

[V n] Aspirin thins the blood, letting it flow more easily through narrowed blood vessels.

PHRASAL VERB

Thin down means the same as thin.

V P n (not pron) Thin down your mayonnaise with soured cream or natural yoghurt. V P n (not pron) ...an oil-based paint that was thinned down with white spirit.

13) VERB If a man's hair is thinning, it has begun to fall out.

thin on top → see top

His hair is thinning and his skin has lost all hint of youth.

14) PHRASE If someone's patience, for example, is wearing thin, they are beginning to become impatient or angry with someone.

Parliament has not yet begun to combat the deepening economic crisis, and public patience is wearing thin.

15) on thin ice → see ice

to disappear into thin air → see air

Phrasal Verbs:

- thin down

- thin out