1
a
: to incline, deviate, or bend from a vertical position
He leaned back in his chair.
b
: to cast one's weight to one side for support
Lean on me as we walk.
2
: to rely for support or inspiration
… preferred not to lean on his father in building a career.—
Current Biography
Current Biography3
: to incline in opinion, taste, or desire
leaning toward a career in chemistry
: to cause to lean : incline
The boy leaned his head on his mother's shoulder.
: the act or an instance of leaning : inclination
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: such 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)
leanly
adverb
: the part of meat that consists principally of lean muscle
Synonyms
Examples of lean in a Sentence
Adjective
She has a lean, athletic body.
all of the marathoners are extremely lean
Recent Examples on the WebElizabeth Logan, Glamour, 1 Apr. 2024
The district is still one of the more competitive in the state but leans Democratic by about two percentage points, according to Dave's Redistricting, a website that compiles voter statistics in various political subdivisions.
—Scott Wartman, The Enquirer, 1 Apr. 2024
The line will lean even further into that with its second ship, Islander, launching in June: The 2,650-guest ship will feature a three-story LandShark Bar at Sea, a floating version of a venue in many Margaritaville hotels and resorts.
—Nathan Diller, USA TODAY, 29 Mar. 2024
Additionally, Nash-Betts has been prioritizing her self-care and leaning into this new season in her life, as menopause traditionally marks a new chapter for women.
—Dominique Fluker, Essence, 29 Mar. 2024
Hue For the last several weeks, Beyoncé, 42, has truly leaned into her cowboy-chic aesthetic, wearing cowboy hats for all occasions.
—Hedy Phillips, Peoplemag, 29 Mar. 2024
Indeed, a Russia that remains isolated from the West will have little choice but to lean into partnerships with China, Iran, and North Korea.
—Hal Brands, Foreign Affairs, 29 Mar. 2024
All these factors lean towards the Fed staying the course, not cutting rates or doing so significantly.
—Paul Weinstein Jr., Forbes, 29 Mar. 2024
Given the directing reins, Kenan leans into chilling visuals, creepy stakes and a palpable yet still kid-friendly sense of dread.
—Brian Truitt, USA TODAY, 20 Mar. 2024
Donavyn Coffey, TIME, 1 Apr. 2024
Focus on building a lean, adaptable tech stack for future growth.
—Expert Panel®, Forbes, 29 Mar. 2024
Participants in this group lost an average of about 15 pounds of lean muscle (40%) and 23 pounds of fat (60%) over 28 weeks.
—Bruce Gil, Quartz, 27 Mar. 2024
Heart disease being the number one cause of death in the U.S.
The healthiest way to eat a sandwich would be to make it at home on whole wheat bread with lean meat and packed with vegetables.
—Ella Gonzales, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 27 Mar. 2024
Generally, a balanced diet includes fresh fruits and vegetables, lean proteins, low-fat or nonfat dairy, and whole grains.
—Cynthia Sass, Mph, Health, 24 Mar. 2024
The lean organizational concept, which gained significant traction in the 1980s, has intensified, prompting companies to scrutinize org charts.
—Ebony Flake, Essence, 24 Mar. 2024
Low lean muscle mass has been linked to a higher risk of cardiovascular death.
—Aria Bendix, NBC News, 18 Mar. 2024
An unprocessed foods diet that includes fish, fruits, lean protein, low-fat or nonfat milk, whole grains, and vegetables helps lower your calorie intake.
—Jenna Birch, Health, 22 Mar. 2024
Geoffrey Skelley, ABC News, 28 Mar. 2024
According to conductor Don Purdon, everyone in the yard had noticed the tree at some point — its precarious lean, its dead bark.
—Topher Sanders, ProPublica, 15 Nov. 2023
Another is that litigants can still try to game the system by filing their lawsuits in states from which appeals are heard by circuit courts known to have a particular partisan lean.
—Michael Hiltzik, Los Angeles Times, 18 Mar. 2024
Under that plan, 12 of the 16 Senate seats on the 2024 ballot would have a Democratic lean (instead of 10 under the Evers map).
—Craig Gilbert, Journal Sentinel, 21 Feb. 2024
The blend of brunette and bronze felt like a culmination of moments, an encapsulation of a larger lean toward warmer hair colors and an evolving spectrum of redhead hues.
—Calin Van Paris, Vogue, 31 Dec. 2023
The living room is devoted to The Avengers, with a heavy lean toward Captain America.
—Théoden Janes, Charlotte Observer, 31 Jan. 2024
There are no restrictions on purchases like some streamers have, and there’s no proprietary lean toward one service or another.
—Geoffrey Morrison, wsj.com, 9 Nov. 2023
Like every bonafide sailing yacht, Sea Cloud Spirit heels (leans) when the sails are up.
—Helen Iatrou, Travel + Leisure, 30 Nov. 2023
Verb
Her shoot leans into a super-feminine aesthetic, and the reactions—especially from her new boyfriend, Barry Keoghan—are the opposite of chill.
—Elizabeth Logan, Glamour, 1 Apr. 2024
The district is still one of the more competitive in the state but leans Democratic by about two percentage points, according to Dave's Redistricting, a website that compiles voter statistics in various political subdivisions.
—Scott Wartman, The Enquirer, 1 Apr. 2024
The line will lean even further into that with its second ship, Islander, launching in June: The 2,650-guest ship will feature a three-story LandShark Bar at Sea, a floating version of a venue in many Margaritaville hotels and resorts.
—Nathan Diller, USA TODAY, 29 Mar. 2024
Additionally, Nash-Betts has been prioritizing her self-care and leaning into this new season in her life, as menopause traditionally marks a new chapter for women.
—Dominique Fluker, Essence, 29 Mar. 2024
Hue For the last several weeks, Beyoncé, 42, has truly leaned into her cowboy-chic aesthetic, wearing cowboy hats for all occasions.
—Hedy Phillips, Peoplemag, 29 Mar. 2024
Indeed, a Russia that remains isolated from the West will have little choice but to lean into partnerships with China, Iran, and North Korea.
—Hal Brands, Foreign Affairs, 29 Mar. 2024
All these factors lean towards the Fed staying the course, not cutting rates or doing so significantly.
—Paul Weinstein Jr., Forbes, 29 Mar. 2024
Given the directing reins, Kenan leans into chilling visuals, creepy stakes and a palpable yet still kid-friendly sense of dread.
—Brian Truitt, USA TODAY, 20 Mar. 2024
Adjective
One clinical trial found that vegetarians taking creatine showed a bigger increase in creatine stores, lean tissue, and exercise performance compared to non-vegetarians who took creatine.
—Donavyn Coffey, TIME, 1 Apr. 2024
Focus on building a lean, adaptable tech stack for future growth.
—Expert Panel®, Forbes, 29 Mar. 2024
Participants in this group lost an average of about 15 pounds of lean muscle (40%) and 23 pounds of fat (60%) over 28 weeks.
—Bruce Gil, Quartz, 27 Mar. 2024
Heart disease being the number one cause of death in the U.S.
The healthiest way to eat a sandwich would be to make it at home on whole wheat bread with lean meat and packed with vegetables.
—Ella Gonzales, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 27 Mar. 2024
Generally, a balanced diet includes fresh fruits and vegetables, lean proteins, low-fat or nonfat dairy, and whole grains.
—Cynthia Sass, Mph, Health, 24 Mar. 2024
The lean organizational concept, which gained significant traction in the 1980s, has intensified, prompting companies to scrutinize org charts.
—Ebony Flake, Essence, 24 Mar. 2024
Low lean muscle mass has been linked to a higher risk of cardiovascular death.
—Aria Bendix, NBC News, 18 Mar. 2024
An unprocessed foods diet that includes fish, fruits, lean protein, low-fat or nonfat milk, whole grains, and vegetables helps lower your calorie intake.
—Jenna Birch, Health, 22 Mar. 2024
Noun
Beyond the topline numbers, these surveys also reveal some of the strengths that give Hogan a chance of overcoming Maryland's blue lean.
—Geoffrey Skelley, ABC News, 28 Mar. 2024
According to conductor Don Purdon, everyone in the yard had noticed the tree at some point — its precarious lean, its dead bark.
—Topher Sanders, ProPublica, 15 Nov. 2023
Another is that litigants can still try to game the system by filing their lawsuits in states from which appeals are heard by circuit courts known to have a particular partisan lean.
—Michael Hiltzik, Los Angeles Times, 18 Mar. 2024
Under that plan, 12 of the 16 Senate seats on the 2024 ballot would have a Democratic lean (instead of 10 under the Evers map).
—Craig Gilbert, Journal Sentinel, 21 Feb. 2024
The blend of brunette and bronze felt like a culmination of moments, an encapsulation of a larger lean toward warmer hair colors and an evolving spectrum of redhead hues.
—Calin Van Paris, Vogue, 31 Dec. 2023
The living room is devoted to The Avengers, with a heavy lean toward Captain America.
—Théoden Janes, Charlotte Observer, 31 Jan. 2024
There are no restrictions on purchases like some streamers have, and there’s no proprietary lean toward one service or another.
—Geoffrey Morrison, wsj.com, 9 Nov. 2023
Like every bonafide sailing yacht, Sea Cloud Spirit heels (leans) when the sails are up.
—Helen Iatrou, Travel + Leisure, 30 Nov. 2023
These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'lean.' 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
Verb (1) and Noun (1)
Middle English lenen, from Old English hleonian; akin to Old High German hlinēn to lean, Greek klinein, Latin clinare
Adjective
Middle English lene, from Old English hlǣne
First Known Use
Verb (1)
before the 12th century, in the meaning defined at intransitive sense 1a
Noun (1)
1776, in the meaning defined above
Adjective
before the 12th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1a
Verb (2)
before the 12th century, in the meaning defined above
Noun (2)
15th century, in the meaning defined above
Time Traveler
The first known use of lean was
before the 12th century
Phrases Containing lean
Articles Related to lean
Dictionary Entries Near lean
Cite this Entry
“Lean.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/lean. Accessed 16 Apr. 2024.
Copy Citation
Kids Definition
lean
1 of 4 verb1
a
: to slant or cause to slant or bend from an upright position
the tree leans to one side
lean a ladder against a wall
b
: to cast one's weight to one side for support
lean on me
2
: to depend for support
lean on one's family in a crisis
3
: to tend in opinion, taste, or desire
lean toward simplicity
lean
2 of 4 noun
: the act or an instance of leaning
lean
3 of 4 adjective1
a
: having little body fat
lean cattle
b
: containing little or no fat
lean meat
2
: lacking richness or fullness
a lean fuel-air mixture
lean
4 of 4 noun
: the part of meat that consists mainly of fat-free muscle
Etymology
Verb
Old English hleonian "to slant to one side"
Adjective
Old English hlǣne "having very little body flesh"
Biographical Definition
More from Merriam-Webster on lean
Nglish: Translation of lean for Spanish Speakers
Britannica English: Translation of lean for Arabic Speakers
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