fine

1 of 6

adjective

finer; finest
1
a
: all right
that's fine with me
b
: well or healthy : not sick or injured
feel fine
2
: superior in kind, quality, or appearance : excellent
a fine job
a fine day
fine wines
3
a(1)
: very thin in gauge or texture
fine thread
(2)
: not coarse
fine sand
(3)
: very small
fine print
(4)
: keen
a knife with a fine edge
(5)
: very precise or accurate
a fine adjustment
trying to be too fine with his pitches
b
: physically trained or hardened close to the limit of efficiency
used of an athlete or animal
4
: delicate, subtle, or sensitive in quality, perception, or discrimination
a fine distinction
5
a
: ornate sense 1
fine writing
b
: marked by or affecting elegance or refinement
fine manners
6
used as an intensive
the leader, in a fine frenzy, beheaded one of his wivesBrian Crozier
7
a
: free from impurity
b
of a metal : having a stated proportion of pure metal in the composition expressed in parts per thousand
a gold coin .9166 fine
fineness noun

fine

2 of 6

adverb

1
: finely: such as
a
: very well
b
2
: with a very narrow margin of time or space
she had not intended to cut her escape so fineMelinda Beck et al.

fine

3 of 6

noun (1)

1
a
: a sum imposed as punishment for an offense
The motorist had to pay a fine for speeding.
b
: a forfeiture or penalty paid to an injured party in a civil action
2
: a compromise of a fictitious suit used as a form of conveyance of lands
3
obsolete : end, conclusion

fine

4 of 6

verb (1)

fined; fining

transitive verb

: to impose a fine on : punish by a fine

fine

5 of 6

verb (2)

fined; fining

transitive verb

1
: purify, clarify
fine and filter wine
2
: to make finer in quality or size

intransitive verb

1
: to become pure or clear
the ale will fine
2
: to become smaller in lines or proportions

fine

6 of 6

noun (2)

fi·​ne ˈfē-(ˌ)nā How to pronounce fine (audio)
: end
used as a direction in music to mark the closing point after a repeat
Phrases
in fine
: in short

Examples of fine in a Sentence

Adjective “Is there anything wrong?” “No, everything's fine.” The house looks fine to me. I think that's a fine idea. You did a fine job. The house is in fine shape. This is a fine example of what can go wrong when one person is given too much power. He's a fine young man. “Did you hurt yourself?” “No, I'm fine.” Adverb She did fine on the test. My mother is doing fine, thank you. This'll do fine for now. She talks and walks so fine, just like a great lady.
Recent Examples on the Web
Adjective
Lastly, the blue-chip art and fine jewelry auction from Macklowe Gallery began, including pieces by Jonas Wood, Will Cotton, Dana James, and Ed Ruscha. Erin Michelle Newberg, Vogue, 4 Mar. 2024 Opened in 1959 by Lawson and Rosemary Gray, this fine jewelry store is now owned and operated by their grandson, Lonnie. Trudy Haywood Saunders, Travel + Leisure, 4 Mar. 2024 This classic summer vacation spot is also home to natural gifts, including Carolina Beach State Park, with some of the area's finest fishing and the Flytrap Trail, named for the carnivorous Venus Flytrap plants along its path. Southern Living Editors, Southern Living, 4 Mar. 2024 Hell hath no fury… Carmen Machi and Antonio de la Torre lead a fine cast. John Hopewell, Variety, 4 Mar. 2024 Instead, the Thai capital is making its name as one of the world’s leading spots for exquisite fine dining, luxury hotels, and avant-garde design. Isabelle Kliger, Forbes, 1 Mar. 2024 Word started to go around that there was a problem with some of the electronic tickets: The ones with QR codes were fine, but those with bar codes were not working. Rory Smith, New York Times, 1 Mar. 2024 The startup founders also proved that this microbe could be used in fine dining when chef Eric Ripert served diners vegan desserts made with Fy at his three-Michelin-star restaurant Le Bernardin in New York City. Claire Turrell, Smithsonian Magazine, 1 Mar. 2024 The Super Bowl stage would be a fine display of how much each has grown. Michael Middlehurst-Schwartz, USA TODAY, 23 Feb. 2024
Adverb
Britt declined to comment to IndyStar about pending legislation before the General Assembly, but government transparency advocates said the current process for the public access counselor to issue opinions works just fine. Brittany Carloni, The Indianapolis Star, 1 Mar. 2024 Contrary to stereotypes, much of Gen Z is doing just fine. Ryan Fonseca, Los Angeles Times, 16 Feb. 2024 As for Sebastian, the fourth-grader is healthy and doing just fine. Michelle Marchante, Miami Herald, 16 Feb. 2024 Despite a recent wave of misleading headlines, Simon Cowell’s doing just fine. Korin Miller, SELF, 7 Feb. 2024 Others, like Amazon Prime Video, have iPad apps that run fine on the Vision Pro. Not every iPad app works on the headset, though, and services like Netflix, Twitch, and YouTube can only be watched through a browser window. Will Greenwald, PCMAG, 5 Feb. 2024 Lee’s bat-to-ball skills should translate just fine. Dieter Kurtenbach, The Mercury News, 22 Feb. 2024 Indeed, most of the ones that increasingly dot Los Angeles seemed to come through the last round of atmospheric rivers just fine — unlike, say, those multimillion-dollar mansions in Dana Point that are slowly sliding into the Pacific Ocean. Erika D. Smith, Los Angeles Times, 18 Feb. 2024 Plenty of 75-year-old men who undergo cancer treatment do just fine and live for many more years. John Otis, New York Times, 15 Feb. 2024
Verb
Rust Movie Productions, LLC was fined for its actions, CNN has reported. Cheri Mossburg, CNN, 6 Mar. 2024 Apple: The tech giant was fined nearly $2 billion by E.U. regulators for thwarting competition among music streaming rivals via its App Store, the latest in a series of regulatory setbacks for the company. David McCabe, New York Times, 4 Mar. 2024 Family Dollar has pleaded guilty to operating a warehouse infested with rodents and has been fined nearly $42 million, the biggest criminal penalty in a food safety case, the Department of Justice said Monday. Ayana Archie, NPR, 29 Feb. 2024 Some companies worldwide were fined for data breaches while others failed to create a solid ground for data processing, which led to $2.248 billion in GDPR violation fines in total. Ivan Guzenko, Forbes, 29 Feb. 2024 In October 2022, thieves stole a trophy-sized elk skull from a hunters backyard in Lander, Wyoming, and last August, a man was fined a whopping $5,000 for illegally collecting shed antlers in Grand Teton National Park. Travis Hall, Field & Stream, 29 Feb. 2024 He was initially fined 150,000 roubles ($1,628) by a district court last year, but a retrial was ordered and prosecutors sought a jail sentence of two years and 11 months. Reuters, NBC News, 27 Feb. 2024 People who remove a healthy heritage tree could be fined $50 per diameter inch, which would total $2,900 in this case. Gavin Off, Charlotte Observer, 26 Feb. 2024 The problem was serious enough that Ford fined certain dealerships thousands of dollars after making the discovery. Detroit Free Press, 25 Feb. 2024
Noun
The payments bank has not been able to sign on new customers since March 2022, and the RBI slapped a $650,000 fine last October for not following know-your-customer requirements. Nicholas Gordon, Fortune Asia, 10 Mar. 2024 Further, fines and fees would revert to the state general fund rather than to the gaming commission's budget. Brittany Carloni, The Indianapolis Star, 9 Mar. 2024 For Meta, for example, that would mean a fine of $13.4 billion, 10 percent of the company’s 2023 worldwide revenue of $134 billion, for its first offense. Scott Roxborough, The Hollywood Reporter, 7 Mar. 2024 Gatekeepers have a deadline of March 6th, 2024 to comply with these rules, or risk facing hefty fines of up to 10 percent of the company’s total global turnover. Jess Weatherbed, The Verge, 6 Mar. 2024 If convicted, Slater faces up to 10 years in prison, three years of supervised release, and a fine of up to $250,000 for each of the three counts in the indictment. USA TODAY, 6 Mar. 2024 The size of Liberty’s fine sends a strong message, experts say. Susan Svrluga, Washington Post, 5 Mar. 2024 The massive lump sum fine of €1.8 billion, the EC said, takes these factors into account. Jon Blistein, Rolling Stone, 4 Mar. 2024 How much are fines for not following irrigation schedule? Jacqueline Pinedo, Sacramento Bee, 27 Feb. 2024

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'fine.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

Word History

Etymology

Adjective

Middle English fin, fyne "of choice quality, superior, admirable, free from impurity, delicate," borrowed from Anglo-French fin, going back to Gallo-Romance *fīnus "extreme, ultimate," adjective derivative of Latin fīnis "boundary, limit, ending" — more at final entry 1

Adverb

Middle English fyne, derivative of fin, fyne fine entry 1

Noun (1)

Middle English fin, fyne "end, conclusion, final legal settlement relating to alienation of property, fee paid to complete a legal conveyance, money paid in lieu of judicial punishment," borrowed from Anglo-French fin, going back to Latin fīnis "boundary, limit, terminal point, ending" (Medieval Latin also, "legal settlement, agreement involving payment, payment in lieu of punishment") — more at final entry 1

Verb (1)

in part derivative of fine entry 3, in part continuing Middle English finen "to pay a fine," borrowed from Anglo-French finer "to pay as a fine, make a payment," verbal derivative of fin fine entry 3

Verb (2)

Middle English finen, derivative of fin, fyne fine entry 1

Noun (2)

borrowed from Italian, going back to Latin fīnis "boundary, limit, ending" — more at final entry 1

First Known Use

Adjective

13th century, in the meaning defined at sense 7a

Adverb

15th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Noun (1)

13th century, in the meaning defined at sense 3

Verb (1)

circa 1513, in the meaning defined above

Verb (2)

14th century, in the meaning defined at transitive sense 1

Noun (2)

1740, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler
The first known use of fine was in the 13th century

Dictionary Entries Near fine

Cite this Entry

“Fine.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/fine. Accessed 19 Mar. 2024.

Kids Definition

fine

1 of 5 noun
: a sum of money to be paid as a punishment

fine

2 of 5 verb
fined; fining
: to punish by a fine

fine

3 of 5 adjective
finer; finest
1
: free from impurity
2
a
: not thick, coarse, or dull
fine thread
fine sand
b
: small entry 1 sense 1
fine print
c
: done with extreme care and accuracy
fine measurement
3
: subtle sense 1b
a fine distinction
4
: excellent in quality or appearance
a fine spring day
5
: to one's liking : agreeable
that's fine with me
6
: very well
feel fine
finely adverb
fineness noun

fine

4 of 5 adverb
1
: in a fine manner
2
: very well
did fine on the test
I liked it fine

fine

5 of 5 noun
fi·​ne
ˈfē-(ˌ)nā
: end entry 1 sense 1b
used as a direction in music to mark the closing point after a repeat
Etymology

Noun

from earlier fine "a final agreement to settle a lawsuit," from Middle English fine "end, conclusion," from early French fin (same meaning), from Latin finis "end, limit" — related to final

Adjective

Middle English fin "pure, brought to perfection," from early French fin (same meaning), from Latin finis (noun) "end, limit" as in finis honorum "the height of honor, the highest honor"

Noun

Italian, from Latin finis "end, limit"

Medical Definition

fine

adjective
finer; finest
of bodily tremors
: of slight excursion

Legal Definition

fine

1 of 2 noun
1
: a sum imposed as punishment for an offense compare restitution
2
: a forfeiture or penalty paid to an injured party in a civil action

fine

2 of 2 transitive verb
fined; fining
: to impose a fine on : punish by fine
Etymology

Noun

Anglo-French fin, fine & Medieval Latin finis end, boundary, agreement, payment for release or privilege, monetary penalty, from Latin finis end, boundary

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