American Dictionary of the English Language

Dictionary Search

Thin


THIN, adjective [Latin tenuis; Gr. narrow.]

1. Having little thickness or extent from one surface to the opposite; as a thin plate of metal; thin paper; a thin board; a thin covering.

2. Rare; not dense; applied to fluids or to soft mixtures; as thin blood; thin milk; thin air.

In the day, when the air is more thin

3. Not close; not crowded; not filling the space; not having the individuals that compose the thing in a close or compact state; as, the trees of a forest are thin; the corn or grass is thin A thin audience in church is not uncommon. Important legislative business should not be transacted in a thin house.

4. Not full or well grown.

Seven thin ears. Genesis 41:6.

5. Slim; small; slender; lean. A person becomes thin by disease. Some animals are naturally thin

6. Exile; small; fine; not full.

THIN hollow sounds, and lamentable screams.

7. Not thick or close; of a loose texture; not impervious to the sight; as a thin vail.

8. Not crowded or well stocked; not abounding.

Ferrara is very large, but extremely thin of people.

9. Slight; not sufficient for a covering; as a thin disguise.

THIN, adverb Not thickly or closely; in a scattered state; as seed sown thin

Spain is thin sown as people.

THIN, verb transitive [Latin tenuo. See Attenuate.]

1. To make thin; to make rare or less thick; to attenuate; as, to thin the blood.

2. To make less close, crowded or numerous; as, to thin the ranks of an enemy; to thin the trees or shrubs of a thicket.

3. To attenuate; to rarefy; to make less dense; as, to thin the air; to thin the vapors.