thin

thin¹ W2S2 [θın] adj comparative thinner superlative thinnest

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1¦(not thick)¦

2¦(not fat)¦

3¦(hair)¦

4¦(liquid)¦

5¦(smoke/mist)¦

6¦(air)¦

7¦(excuse/argument/evidence etc)¦

8 a thin margin/majority etc

9¦(smile)¦

10¦(voice/sound)¦

11 the thin end of the wedge

12 be thin on the ground

13 be having a thin time (of it)

14 be (walking/treading/skating) on thin ice

15 disappear/vanish into thin air

16 out of thin air

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[: Old English; Origin: thynne]

1.) ¦(NOT THICK)¦

if something is thin, there is only a small distance between its two opposite sides or surfaces

≠ ↑thick

▪ a thin gold chain

▪ She's only wearing a thin summer jacket (=a jacket made of light material) .

▪ two thin slices of bread

▪ The road was covered with a thin layer of ice.

▪ The skin on the eyelids is the thinnest on the body.

paper/wafer thin

(=very thin)

▪ Keep your voice down - the walls are paper thin.

2.) ¦(NOT FAT)¦

having little fat on your body

≠ ↑fat

▪ He was tall and thin, with short brown hair.

thin arms/legs/lips etc

▪ He has long thin hands.

▪ Most high school girls say they want to be thinner.

3.) ¦(HAIR)¦

if someone has thin hair, they do not have a lot of hair

▪ a thin straggly beard

▪ His hair is quite thin on top.

4.) ¦(LIQUID)¦

a liquid that is thin flows very easily because it has a lot of water in it

≠ ↑thick

▪ thin paint

5.) ¦(SMOKE/MIST)¦

smoke or mist that is thin is easy to see through

≠ ↑thick

▪ The fog is quite thin in places.

6.) ¦(AIR)¦

air that is thin is more difficult to breathe than usual because it has less ↑oxygen in it

▪ the thinner air high in the mountains

7.) ¦(EXCUSE/ARGUMENT/EVIDENCE ETC)¦

a thin excuse, argument, or evidence is not good or detailed enough to be useful or effective

▪ Evidence that capital punishment deters crime is pretty thin.

8.) a thin margin/majority etc

a very small number or amount of something

▪ Engle beat Blanchard by a razor-thin margin (=a very small number of votes) in the race for governor.

9.) ¦(SMILE)¦

a thin smile does not seem very happy or sincere

▪ Charlie gave her a thin smile.

10.)¦(VOICE/SOUND)¦

a thin voice or sound is high and unpleasant to listen to

▪ His thin voice trailed off.

11.) the thin end of the wedge

BrE spoken an expression meaning something that you think is the beginning of a harmful development

▪ Workers believe the job cuts are just the thin end of the wedge.

12.) be thin on the ground

if a particular type of person or thing is thin on the ground, there are very few available

▪ Taxis seem to be thin on the ground.

13.) be having a thin time (of it)

BrE spoken to be in a difficult situation, especially one in which you do not have enough money

14.) be (walking/treading/skating) on thin ice

to be in a situation in which you are likely to upset someone or cause trouble

▪ I was on thin ice, and I knew it.

15.) disappear/vanish into thin air

to disappear completely in a mysterious way

▪ Victor and his kidnappers had vanished into thin air.

16.) out of thin air

out of nowhere, as if by magic

▪ It seems like researchers have just pulled the numbers out of thin air.

→↑thinly,wear thin

>thinness n [U]

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WORD CHOICE: thin, slim, skinny, slender, lean, slight

Thin is a general word meaning that someone has little fat on their body. It is usually, but not always, disapproving : He's much too thin. | Teenage girls all seem to want to be thin.

Slim means thin in an attractive way : her lovely slim figure

Skinny is a fairly informal word meaning very thin, which is usually disapproving : ridiculously skinny models

Slender , lean , and slight are used mostly in written English.

Slender means thin in an attractive and graceful way : long slender legs

Lean means thin and looking strong and fit : a tall, lean athlete

Slight means thin and delicate-looking : Her brother was very slight and looked younger than he was.

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thin ²

thin² adv

thinly. Many teachers think this is not correct English

▪ Don't cut the bread so thin.

thin ³

thin³ v past tense and past participle thinned present participle thinning

1.) [I and T] also thin out

to become fewer in number, especially when there were many before, or to remove people, plants, or things so that fewer remain

▪ The crowd had thinned out and only a few people were left.

▪ The trees thinned as we got closer to the top of the mountain.

▪ Traffic was finally thinning.

▪ Thin the carrots to two inches apart.

▪ Her hair had been thinned and cut shorter.

2.) [I and T]

to make something thinner or to become thinner

≠ ↑thicken

▪ The clouds had begun to thin.

▪ A narrow smile thinned his lips.

3.) [T] also thin down

to make a liquid weaker by adding water or another liquid

▪ Thin the sauce by adding milk.

thin sth with sth

▪ The pastels can be thinned with water.

4.) [I]

if someone's hair is thinning, they have less hair than they used to

▪ a tall man with thinning hair

5.) thin the ranks

if something thins the ranks of a group of people, there are fewer of them as a result of it

▪ Illness had thinned our ranks.