1
: a soft faintly bluish-white lustrous low-melting crystalline metallic element with atomic number 50 that is malleable and ductile at ordinary temperatures and that is used especially in containers, as a protective coating, in tinfoil, and in soft solders and alloys
—often used before another noun
tin cans
a tin roof
see Chemical Elements Table
2
plural tins
a
: a box, can, pan, vessel, or a sheet made of tinplate
broadly
: such a container of any metal (such as aluminum)
b
: a metal container and its contents
a tin of tomatoes
tin
adjective
tinned; tinning
1
: to cover or plate with tin or a tin alloy
2
: to put up or pack in tins : can
tinned peaches
taxpayer identification number
Examples of tin in a Sentence
Noun
row upon row of tins containing food for an emergency that never happened
Recent Examples on the Web
Joanna Biggs, The Atlantic, 30 Nov. 2023
Familiar metals like tin and mercury become superconductors only when chilled to within a few degrees of absolute zero.
—Charlie Wood, Quanta Magazine, 27 Nov. 2023
The first Portuguese tins of tuna, mackerel, and sardines were made by the Ramirez Canning Company in 1865.
—Michael Dobuski, ABC News, 26 Nov. 2023
How to Make Fresh, Airy Donuts Every Time Delivered in a limited-edition, collectible holiday tin, the doughnut bites are available to ship nationwide for $69 per dozen, plus shipping and handling.
—Sharon Greenthal, Better Homes & Gardens, 9 Nov. 2023
Get The Recipe 26 of 50 Spritz Cookies Every cookie tin should have some spritz cookies inside.
—Southern Living Editors, Southern Living, 27 Oct. 2023
The United States will have no pandas for the first time since First Lady Pat Nixon, accompanying her husband on his groundbreaking trip to Beijing in 1972, admired the panda logo atop a tin of cigarettes on a table at the welcoming banquet.
—Robin Wright, The New Yorker, 14 Nov. 2023
With its housing carved from a single chunk of aluminum, Humane’s device is closer to a brooch, a tin of mints, or a cigarette packet clipped in half than the sleeker items that adorn politicians’ lapels or baseball fans’ caps.
—WIRED, 9 Nov. 2023
Choose from items like a tin of anchovies, ice cream sandwiches, bagels and more.
—Bellamy Richardson, wsj.com, 8 Nov. 2023
Antara Sinha, Bon Appétit, 28 Aug. 2023
To be in on the food scene is to be a part of a cool-kids club—dirty martini in one hand and tinned fish in the other.
—Kris Martins, Glamour, 10 Aug. 2023
The store’s shelves are stocked with sausages, many-layered honey cake, tinned sprats from Latvia, and other Eastern European goods.
—Globe Staff, BostonGlobe.com, 11 July 2023
Everything was raw or pickled or tinned, set out family-style in the middle of the table.
—Betty Hallock, Los Angeles Times, 5 May 2023
Established in Boston in 2016, the restaurant is known for its high-quality oysters, lobster, caviar, tinned fish and cocktails.
—Joanne Shurvell, Forbes, 27 Mar. 2023
Then strip and tin the black and red wires. Connect the power lead Solder the red and black wires to the end of the LED strip, observing polarity.
—Bradley Ford, Popular Mechanics, 28 Feb. 2023
Using a soldering iron with a small tip, tin the contacts on the ends of each LED strip.
—Bradley Ford, Popular Mechanics, 28 Feb. 2023
During the intersession, the second-graders worked diligently tin punching designs on pie pans, weaving baskets out of paper and creating unique toys and games.
—Ed Wittenberg, cleveland, 18 Nov. 2022
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Noun
What Bill finds in the convent’s coal hole at night is just as real as what happens in his family’s kitchen every year at Christmas: the chopping of cherries, blanching of almonds, and wrapping of the cake tin with two layers of brown paper.
—Joanna Biggs, The Atlantic, 30 Nov. 2023
Familiar metals like tin and mercury become superconductors only when chilled to within a few degrees of absolute zero.
—Charlie Wood, Quanta Magazine, 27 Nov. 2023
The first Portuguese tins of tuna, mackerel, and sardines were made by the Ramirez Canning Company in 1865.
—Michael Dobuski, ABC News, 26 Nov. 2023
How to Make Fresh, Airy Donuts Every Time Delivered in a limited-edition, collectible holiday tin, the doughnut bites are available to ship nationwide for $69 per dozen, plus shipping and handling.
—Sharon Greenthal, Better Homes & Gardens, 9 Nov. 2023
Get The Recipe 26 of 50 Spritz Cookies Every cookie tin should have some spritz cookies inside.
—Southern Living Editors, Southern Living, 27 Oct. 2023
The United States will have no pandas for the first time since First Lady Pat Nixon, accompanying her husband on his groundbreaking trip to Beijing in 1972, admired the panda logo atop a tin of cigarettes on a table at the welcoming banquet.
—Robin Wright, The New Yorker, 14 Nov. 2023
With its housing carved from a single chunk of aluminum, Humane’s device is closer to a brooch, a tin of mints, or a cigarette packet clipped in half than the sleeker items that adorn politicians’ lapels or baseball fans’ caps.
—WIRED, 9 Nov. 2023
Choose from items like a tin of anchovies, ice cream sandwiches, bagels and more.
—Bellamy Richardson, wsj.com, 8 Nov. 2023
Verb
Hearts of palm—those tinned, briny, squeaky stalks from the pickle aisle—made their way into innumerable pasta, salad, and dip recipes of the late ’90s and early aughts.
—Antara Sinha, Bon Appétit, 28 Aug. 2023
To be in on the food scene is to be a part of a cool-kids club—dirty martini in one hand and tinned fish in the other.
—Kris Martins, Glamour, 10 Aug. 2023
The store’s shelves are stocked with sausages, many-layered honey cake, tinned sprats from Latvia, and other Eastern European goods.
—Globe Staff, BostonGlobe.com, 11 July 2023
Everything was raw or pickled or tinned, set out family-style in the middle of the table.
—Betty Hallock, Los Angeles Times, 5 May 2023
Established in Boston in 2016, the restaurant is known for its high-quality oysters, lobster, caviar, tinned fish and cocktails.
—Joanne Shurvell, Forbes, 27 Mar. 2023
Then strip and tin the black and red wires. Connect the power lead Solder the red and black wires to the end of the LED strip, observing polarity.
—Bradley Ford, Popular Mechanics, 28 Feb. 2023
Using a soldering iron with a small tip, tin the contacts on the ends of each LED strip.
—Bradley Ford, Popular Mechanics, 28 Feb. 2023
During the intersession, the second-graders worked diligently tin punching designs on pie pans, weaving baskets out of paper and creating unique toys and games.
—Ed Wittenberg, cleveland, 18 Nov. 2022
See More
These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'tin.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.
Word History
Phrases Containing tin
Dictionary Entries Near tin
Cite this Entry
“Tin.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/tin. Accessed 9 Dec. 2023.
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Kids Definition
tin
2 of 2 verb
tinned; tinning
1
: to cover or plate with tin or a mixture of tin with another metal
2
: to put up or pack in tins : can
Medical Definition
tin
noun
: a soft faintly bluish white lustrous low-melting crystalline metallic element that is malleable and ductile at ordinary temperatures and that is used as a protective coating, in tinfoil, and in soft solders and alloys
—symbol Sn
see Chemical Elements Table
Legal Definition
TIN
abbreviation
taxpayer identification number
More from Merriam-Webster on tin
Nglish: Translation of tin for Spanish Speakers
Britannica English: Translation of tin for Arabic Speakers
Britannica.com: Encyclopedia article about tin
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