tin

1 of 3

noun

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
tinful noun

tin

2 of 3

verb

tinned; tinning

transitive verb

1
: to cover or plate with tin or a tin alloy
2
: to put up or pack in tins : can
tinned peaches

TIN

3 of 3

abbreviation

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
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

Etymology

Noun

Middle English, from Old English; akin to Old High German zin tin

First Known Use

Noun

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

Verb

14th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Time Traveler
The first known use of tin was before the 12th century

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.

Kids Definition

tin

1 of 2 noun
1
: a soft shiny bluish white metallic element that is used in combination with other metals, as a protective coating, and in tinfoil see element
2
a
: a container made of metal (as tinplate)
a pie tin
b
: a sealed can holding food
tin adjective

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

Last Updated: - Updated example sentences
Love words? Need even more definitions?

Subscribe to America's largest dictionary and get thousands more definitions and advanced search—ad free!