thin

1 of 3

adjective

ˈthin 

thinner; thinnest

1

a

: having little extent from one surface to its opposite

thin paper

b

: measuring little in cross section or diameter

thin rope

2

: not dense in arrangement or distribution

thin hair

3

: not well fleshed : lean

4

a

: more fluid or rarefied than normal

thin air

b

: having less than the usual number : scanty

thin attendance

c

: few in number : scarce

d

: scantily supplied

e

: characterized by a paucity of bids or offerings

a thin market

5

a

: lacking substance or strength

thin broth

a thin plot

b

of a soil : infertile, poor

6

a

: flimsy, unconvincing

a thin disguise

b

: disappointingly poor or hard

had a thin time of it

7

: somewhat feeble, shrill, and lacking in resonance

a thin voice

8

: lacking in intensity or brilliance

thin light

9

: lacking sufficient photographic density or contrast

thinly adverb

thinness

ˈthin-nəs 

noun

thinnish

ˈthi-nish 

adjective

thin

2 of 3

verb

thinned; thinning

transitive verb

: to make thin or thinner:

a

: to reduce in thickness or depth : attenuate

b

: to make less dense or viscous

c

: dilute, weaken

d

: to cause to lose flesh

thinned by weeks of privation

e

: to reduce in number or bulk

intransitive verb

1

: to become thin or thinner

2

: to become weak

thin

3 of 3

adverb

thinner; thinnest

: in a thin manner : thinly

—used especially in combination

thin-clad

thin-flowing

Phrases

thin on the ground

: scarce sense 1

Synonyms

Adjective

• bony
• boney
• fatless
• lean
• lithe
• skinny
• slender
• slim
• spare
• svelte

Verb

• adulterate
• cut
• dilute
• extend
• lace
• sophisticate
• water down
• weaken

Choose the Right Synonym for thin

thin, slender, slim, slight, tenuous mean not thick, broad, abundant, or dense.

thin implies comparatively little extension between surfaces or in diameter, or it may imply lack of substance, richness, or abundance.

thin wire

a thin soup

slender implies leanness or spareness often with grace and good proportion.

the slender legs of a Sheraton chair

slim applies to slenderness that suggests fragility or scantiness.

a slim volume of poetry

a slim chance

slight implies smallness as well as thinness.

a slight build

tenuous implies extreme thinness, sheerness, or lack of substance and firmness.

a tenuous thread

Examples of thin in a Sentence

Adjective

a thin coating of dust

pizza with a thin crust

a thin slice of ham

a thin stand of trees

Verb

He added a little more water to thin the gravy.

The haze thinned in the late afternoon.

His face has been thinned by illness.

Adverb

She sliced the cheese thin.

Recent Examples on the Web

Adjective

Lemony Green Bean Pasta Salad Seek out thin haricots verts (a.k.a. —Becky Krystal, Washington Post, 13 Apr. 2024

Programs for at-risk populations already are stretched thin under the existing budget, survivors and advocates say. —Sonja Sharp, Los Angeles Times, 13 Apr. 2024

In the tradition of Abercrombie & Fitch, its sales associates were encouraged to remain thin in order to fit into the brand’s one-size-fits-all merchandise. —Daniel Rodgers, Vogue, 12 Apr. 2024

The bag also comes with two straps — one thin and one thick — and is available in a handful of colors and textures like faux crocodile in hunter green and distressed leather in coffee brown. —Madison Yauger, Peoplemag, 12 Apr. 2024

Vanadis’s eyes look like two giant, shiny red balloons that have been strapped to a thin worm’s body. —Paul Smaglik, Discover Magazine, 11 Apr. 2024

Resting inside a glass case is a tallit – a thin religious cloth traditionally worn by Jews in prayer and during burial. —Leonardo Bevilacqua, The Christian Science Monitor, 10 Apr. 2024

The water pressure then causes the vehicle to rise and slide on a thin layer of water between the tires and the road, making the driver lose control. —Star-Telegram Bot, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 1 Apr. 2024

There are the complaints about pitching one project to multiple groups in the same division and bottlenecks with executives spread too thin. —Borys Kit, The Hollywood Reporter, 1 Apr. 2024

Verb

The micromobility operator landscape has thinned significantly, and only a few players remain in the US and Europe. —Regina Clewlow, Forbes, 28 Mar. 2024

As totality took place, the clouds thinned enough to see the full total eclipse, although the sun's corona — the sun's thin, outer atmosphere only visible during a total eclipse — was difficult to see. —USA TODAY, 26 Mar. 2024

Fenugreek may thin the blood, increasing the action of blood thinners. —Cynthia Sass, Mph, Health, 24 Mar. 2024

By the time of my third and final session, the track traffic has thinned out and, finally, the winter sun has chased off the relentless rain. —Tim Pitt, Robb Report, 22 Mar. 2024

The crowd thins as people rotate in and out of the downstairs smoking room. —Sophie Dodd, Travel + Leisure, 22 Mar. 2024

Sometime during the night before UCLA dedicated its court to Nell and John Wooden on Dec. 20, 2003, with the normal throng of student campers thinned by winter break, Branden and Jennifer commenced their romance with a kiss. —Ben Bolch, Los Angeles Times, 7 Mar. 2024

The tips of her fingers, which had always been slightly swollen and round—a sign of low oxygen—thinned out as her lungs improved. —Sarah Zhang, The Atlantic, 7 Mar. 2024

Maintain –Keep an eye on fruiting trees and begin thinning for optimum growth, stone fruit such as peaches and nectarines should be thinned 5-7 inches apart while smaller varieties can be kept slightly closer on the branch. —Kristin Guy, Sunset Magazine, 12 Mar. 2024

Adverb

If someone is unhappy, unfulfilled, or stretched thin, a buyout can be a launching pad to a different job with a better work-life balance. —Emma Burleigh, Fortune, 2 Apr. 2024

With the majority so thin, McCarthy effectively gave Gaetz the power to remove him. —Dexter Filkins, The New Yorker, 19 Feb. 2024

Some like small strips of pastry dropped into the bubbling pot, either free-form and puffy or rolled thin and cut like noodles. —Southern Living Test Kitchen, Southern Living, 30 Dec. 2023

As Pakistan approaches fresh elections on Feb. 8, the 71-year-old’s chances of a comeback appear gossamer thin, despite retaining broad public support. —Charlie Campbell, TIME, 17 Jan. 2024

Border enforcement resources have been stretched thin, resulting in reallocation of agents to assist with processing asylum requests. —Michael Smolens, San Diego Union-Tribune, 7 Jan. 2024

With as many recruits as teams bring in, the social teams can be spread thin trying to photograph every family. —Kevin Reynolds, The Salt Lake Tribune, 19 Sep. 2023

The colors are flat, the lines uniform and thin, the pages strict grids of small panels. —Gabriel Winslow-Yost, The New York Review of Books, 29 June 2023

The very deepest lows thin out somewhat at maximum volume levels (digital signal processing, or DSP, kicks in to prevent distortion), but the speaker still gets plenty loud and produces full, deep bass at moderate volume settings. —PCMAG, 18 Sep. 2023

Word History

Etymology

Adjective

Middle English thin, thinne, going back to Old English þynne, going back to Germanic *þunnu- (assimilated to the -ja-stem adjectives in West Germanic, whence Middle Dutch dunne "thin," Old High German dunni, against Old Norse þunnr), generalized from a paradigm *þenu-, *þunw-a-, going back to Indo-European *ténh₂u-, *tn̥h₂u̯ó-, whence also, from with a base *tenh₂u-, *tn̥h₂u- with varying ablaut and suffixation, Old Irish tanae "thin, slender," Old Welsh teneu, Middle Breton tanau, Latin tenuis "fine-drawn, thin, narrow, slight," Greek tanu- "extended, long," tanaós "outstretched, long," Old Church Slavic tĭnŭkŭ "fine, delicate," Russian tónkij "thin," Croatian & Serbian tȁnak, Lithuanian tę́vas, Sanskrit tanúḥ, tánukaḥ "thin, small"

Note: Indo-European *tenh₂u-, *tn̥h₂u- is usually taken to be a derivative of the verbal base *ten- "stretch, extend"; see tenant entry 1.

Verb

Middle English thinnen, going back to Old English þynnian, derivative of þynne thin entry 1

Adverb

Middle English thynne, derivative of thin, thinne thin entry 1

First Known Use

Adjective

before the 12th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1a

Verb

before the 12th century, in the meaning defined at transitive sense

Adverb

13th century, in the meaning defined above

Phrases Containing thin

• disappear/vanish into thin air
• have a thin time (of it)
• into thin air
• out of thin air
• run thin
• paper-thin
• razor-thin
• the thin end of the wedge
• thin skin
• thin on the ground
• thick and thin
• thin-skinned
• thin-layer chromatography
• thin smile
• through thick and thin
• wafer-thin
• thin film
• wear thin
• on thin ice

Kids Definition

thin

1 of 2 adjective

ˈthin 

thinner; thinnest

1

: having little extent from one surface to its opposite

thin paper

2

: having widely scattered units

thin hair

3

: having too little flesh

a tall thin boy

4

: less dense than normal

thin air

5

: lacking substance or strength

thin broth

thin excuses

6

: somewhat weak or shrill

a thin voice

thinly adverb

thinness

ˈthin-nəs 

noun

thin

2 of 2 verb

thinned; thinning

1

: to make or become thin

2

: to reduce in number especially to prevent crowding

thin young carrots in the garden