From Longman Dictionary of Contemporary Englishldoce_335_fthinthin1 /θɪn/ ●●● S2 W2 adjective (comparative thinner, superlative thinnest) 1 not thickTHIN OBJECT OR MATERIAL if something is thin, there is only a small distance between its two opposite sides or surfaces OPP thick a thin gold chain She’s only wearing a thin summer jacket (=a jacket made of light material). two thin slices of bread The road was covered with a thin layer of ice. The skin on the eyelids is the thinnest on the body.paper/wafer thin (=very thin) Keep your voice down – the walls are paper thin.2 not fatTHIN PERSON having little fat on your body OPP fat He was tall and thin, with short brown hair.thin arms/legs/lips etc He has long thin hands. Most high school girls say they want to be thinner.as thin as a rake/rail/whippet (=very thin)3 hairFEW/NOT MANY if someone has thin hair, they do not have a lot of hair a thin straggly beard His hair is quite thin on top.4 liquidLIQUID a liquid that is thin flows very easily because it has a lot of water in it OPP thick thin paint5 smoke/mistSEE smoke or mist that is thin is easy to see through OPP thick The fog is quite thin in places. 6 airDN air that is thin is more difficult to breathe than usual because it has less oxygen in it the thinner air high in the mountains7 excuse/argument/evidence etcBELIEVE a thin excuse, argument, or evidence is not good or detailed enough to be useful or effective Evidence that capital punishment deters crime is pretty thin.8 → a thin margin/majority etc9 smile a thin smile does not seem very happy or sincere Charlie gave her a thin smile.10 voice/soundHIGH SOUND OR VOICE a thin voice or sound is high and unpleasant to listen to His thin voice trailed off.11 → the thin end of the wedge12 → be thin on the ground13 → be having a thin time (of it)14 → be (walking/treading/skating) on thin ice15 → disappear/vanish into thin air16 → out of thin air → wear1(6) —thinness noun [uncountable]THESAURUSpersonthin having little fat on your bodya tall, thin manslim thin in an attractive wayher slim figurea slim woman in her fiftiesMagazines are always full of advice about how to stay slim.slender written thin in an attractive and graceful way – used especially about parts of the body, and used especially about womenher long, slender legsShe is slender, with very fair hair.lean thin and looking healthy and fithis lean bodyHe was lean and looked like a runner.skinny very thin in a way that is not attractivea skinny teenagerYour arms are so skinny!slight written thin and delicatea small, slight girl with big eyesscrawny /ˈskrɔːni $ ˈskrɒː-/ very thin, small, and weak-lookinga scrawny kid in blue jeansunderweight below the usual weight for someone of your height, and therefore too thinHe had no appetite and remained underweight.gaunt /ɡɔːnt $ ɡɒːnt/ written very thin and pale, especially because of illness or continued worryHe looked gaunt and had not shaved for days.emaciated /ɪˈmeɪʃieɪtəd, -si-/ written extremely thin and weak, because you are ill or not getting enough to eatThe tents were filled with emaciated refugees.skeletal written used about someone who is so thin that you can see the shape of their bonesThe soldiers were shocked by the skeletal figures of the camp’s prisoners.anorexic used about someone who is extremely thin because they have a mental illness that makes them stop eatingHer daughter is anorexic.anorexic teenagersobject/materialthin not widea thin slice of cakea thin layer of iceThe gold was very thin.slim thin, especially in a way that looks attractivea slim volume of poetrya slim mobile phonea slim wooden boxslender written tall or long and thin, in a way that looks attractive, but is often not very strongthe slender columns that supported the roof The spider was hanging by a slender thread. paper-thin/wafer-thin extremely thin, like paperThe walls of the apartment were paper-thin.wafer-thin slices of pastryThe petals are paper-thin.
Examples from the Corpus
thin• I wish my legs were thinner.• In fact, one of the features that sets the goat-antelopes apart from their relatives is the relatively thin and fragile skull.• She looked pale, thin, and unhealthy.• He's tall and thin and wears glasses.• Her thick brown cotton stockings were bunched around her thin ankles, her legs were blue.• a wire as thin as a human hair• I'm afraid the evidence is really too thin as it stands. We need to investigate further.• For these crepes you will need a fairly thin batter, so do not add too much flour.• It was a chilly night, and he had only a thin blanket for warmth.• a thin blue line• Martin wore a thin cotton shirt under his sweater.• How do you get your sugar cookies so thin, Dagmar?• That's a pretty thin excuse - he could have gotten there if he'd really wanted to.• "What do you want?" gasped Helen in a thin, frightened voice.• I was disappointed with your history essay, it seemed a little thin in terms of content.• If this showed their somewhat thin knowledge of my country, the compliment was returned.• The lake was covered with a thin layer of ice.• In her pocket was a thin leather wallet containing six ten dollar bills.• It is a cage, suspended from the ceiling by the thinnest of threads.• His hair's getting thin on top.• Both of them noticed with shock how alarmingly thin she was, frail to the point of vanishing.• a thin slice of bread• My curtains are too thin to keep the sun out.• At sixteen, I was still very thin, unattractive, and underdeveloped.• The air is so thin up here I can hardly breathe.• The layers of paint are built up by the application of a thin wash, staining the primed canvas.• Larry was tall and thin with dark brown hair and bright blue eyes.paper/wafer thin• She and Justine developed a long distance friendship, cemented by immensely long letters on wafer thin paper.• If only I had a duck's back instead of wafer thin skin.• A wafer thin translucent something undulated through the air towards her, chuckling gently to itself in a liquid voice.• It was fashioned from dark green plastic, wafer thin, yet of considerable weight.thin arms/legs/lips etc• She hurried them away from their anchorage and stripped them down her thin legs.• He kept his on, suspicious as he was; the shirt masked his thin arms and caved chest.• His dark skin glistens, his slanted eyes above his high cheekbones are cruel, his thin lips are determined.• Paler, shiny colours help thin lips look more full.• The men lay crumpled and motionless, open-mouthed, their thin legs tangled together. thinthin2 ●●○ verb (thinned, thinning) 1 CROWD[intransitive, transitive] (also thin out) to become fewer in number, especially when there were many before, or to remove people, plants, or things so that fewer remain The crowd had thinned out and only a few people were left. The trees thinned as we got closer to the top of the mountain. Traffic was finally thinning. Thin the carrots to two inches apart. Her hair had been thinned and cut shorter.2 [intransitive, transitive] to make something thinner or to become thinner OPP thicken The clouds had begun to thin. A narrow smile thinned his lips.3 LIQUID[transitive] (also thin down) to make a liquid weaker by adding water or another liquid Thin the sauce by adding milk.thin something with something The pastels can be thinned with water.4 [intransitive] if someone’s hair is thinning, they have less hair than they used to a tall man with thinning hair5 → thin the ranks→ See Verb tableExamples from the Corpus
thin• Zhao's hair has thinned and turned gray.• Fermanagh the Carboniferous sediments thin northwards against the land mass from which they were derived.• The small group of protesters thinned out by midnight.• With luck, the press might have thinned out.• Add a little oil to thin the mixture.• They went through the fields to thin the sugar beets.• Generally there are too many bodies on stage and it may be your job to thin them out.thinthin3 adverb THIN PERSONthinly. Many teachers think this is not correct English Don’t cut the bread so thin.Examples from the Corpus
thin• Core and slice apples very, very thin.From Longman Business Dictionarythinthin /θɪn/ adjective journalism if trading on a financial market is thin, there is not much activityTrade was thin in the currency markets yesterday, heading into a Japanese long weekend. —thinly adverbThe shares were thinly traded.Origin thin1 Old English thynne 