lean

³lean

adj

Definition of LEAN

1

a : lacking or deficient in flesh b : containing little or no fat <lean meat>

2

: lacking richness, sufficiency, or productiveness <lean profits> <the lean years>

3

: deficient in an essential or important quality or ingredient: as a of ore : containing little valuable mineral b : low in combustible component —used especially of fuel mixtures

4

: characterized by economy (as of style, expression, or operation)

— lean·ly adverb

— lean·ness \ˈlēn-nəs\ noun

Examples of LEAN

1. She has a lean, athletic body.
2. <all of the marathoners are extremely lean>

Origin of LEAN

Middle English lene, from Old English hlǣne

First Known Use: before 12th century

Related to LEAN

Synonyms: bony (also boney), fatless, thin, lithe, skinny, slender, slim, spare, svelte

Antonyms: chubby, corpulent, fat, gross, obese, overweight, plump, portly, rotund, tubby

Related Words: clean-limbed, trim; sylphlike, willowy; angular, rawboned, scraggy, scrawny, sinewy, wiry; lank, lanky, rangy, reedy, spindling, spindly, stringy, twiggy, waspish, weedy; anorectic (also anoretic), anorexic, cadaverous, emaciated, gaunt, haggard, pinched, skeletal, wasted, wizened; meager (or meagre), puny, slight

Near Antonyms: beefy, bulky, chunky, fleshy, heavy, heavyset, stocky, stout, thick, thickset, weighty; brawny, burly, husky; dumpy, pudgy, roly-poly, squat, stubby; paunchy, potbellied; flabby, soft; buxom, zaftig (also zoftig); fleshed-out, full, hippy, round

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Synonym Discussion of LEAN

lean, spare, lank, lanky, gaunt, rawboned, scrawny, skinny mean thin because of an absence of excess flesh. lean stresses lack of fat and of curving contours <a lean racehorse>. spare suggests leanness from abstemious living or constant exercise <the gymnast's spare figure>. lank implies tallness as well as leanness <the lank legs of the heron>. lanky suggests awkwardness and loose-jointedness as well as thinness <a lanky youth, all arms and legs>. gaunt implies marked thinness or emaciation as from overwork or suffering <a prisoner's gaunt face>. rawboned suggests a large ungainly build without implying undernourishment <a rawboned farmer>. scrawny and skinny imply an extreme leanness that suggests deficient strength and vitality <a scrawny chicken> <skinny street urchins>.