26984 words

thin

22 definitions • 40 examples
1

Examples:

a thin book
thin black lines
a thin jacket (= made from thin material)
2
(of the body) with little flesh on the bones:

Examples:

Did you notice how thin her wrists were?
Thin, hungry dogs roamed the streets.
3
to be very thin:

Examples:

He eats like a horse and yet he's as thin as a rake.
4
not difficult to see through:

Examples:

thin mist/cloud
5
having only a small number of people or a small amount of something:

Examples:

Attendance at the meeting was rather thin.
6
Air that is thin contains less oxygen than the air at sea level:

Examples:

Altitude sickness is suffered by mountain climbers breathing thin air with little oxygen on high peaks.
For many riders, the first day in the mountains is the hardest, as they struggle to adjust to the thinner air.
In the northern highlands of Ethiopia the air is thin and I'm breathless after the climb.
7

Examples:

a thin soup
8
weak or of poor quality:

Examples:

a thin excuse
a thin disguise
a thin smile
9
to make a substance less thick, often by adding a liquid to it:

Examples:

thin something down Thin the sauce down with a little stock.
10
When a crowd or a group thins (out), it becomes fewer in number, and when you thin (out) a group of plants or other things, you remove some to make them fewer:

Examples:

The traffic will thin out after the rush hour.
11
having a small distance from the top to the bottom side:

Examples:

The statue is coated with a thin layer of gold.
12
having little extra flesh on the body:

Examples:

thin arms/legs
a thin face
Models must be tall and thin.
13
having only a few of something covering an area; not dense:

Examples:

His hair is thin on top.
Where there is little rain, grass and trees get thinner.
14

Examples:

We began dinner with a thin but tasty soup.
15

Examples:

a thin, metallic tone
I thought the plot was a bit thin.
We slept poorly that night in the thin mountain air.
16
to become fewer in number, or to make a group of things fewer in number:

Examples:

[ I ] Traffic thins out after seven o’clock.
17
if trading, etc. is thin, not many people are buying or selling shares, etc.:

Examples:

Investor perceptions may decrease the value of high-risk bonds, especially in a thin market.
In another day of thin trading, the FTSE 100 rose 21 to 5269.5.
18
having only a small number of people or a small amount of something, especially money:

Examples:

Wages are lower in the area, and union membership is thin.
Turnover was extremely thin.
a thin budget
19
a situation in which there is only a small difference between the total cost of making and selling something and the price it is sold for, or between the total amount of money a company receives from sales and the total cost of producing all its products and services:

Examples:

Cost is an issue in a business that operates on thin margins.
20
to not have enough money, people, supplies, etc. to operate, do a job, or provide what is needed:

Examples:

Without more money, the programs would be stretched thin.
In the current economic climate, doctors and nurses are stretched thin and equipment is lacking in many of the clinics.
21
something that is not very harmful in itself but that will be the start of a harmful development:

Examples:

The introduction of a fee for the service has been described as "the thin end of the wedge" by union leaders.
22

Examples:

Good strategic leaders are very thin on the ground in UK companies.

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