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单词 thin
释义

Definition of thin in English:

thin

adjectivethinnest, thinner θɪnθɪn
  • 1With opposite surfaces or sides that are close or relatively close together.

    thin slices of bread

    薄面包片。

    a thin line of paint
    Example sentencesExamples
    • It lifts a thin surface layer of the cornea away from underlying layers.
    • He pulled out a thin strip of metal and put it into the lock.
    • The pudding is made by lining a buttered basin with fairly thin slices of good bread cut to fit exactly.
    • Once you have bunched four or five sprigs together, wind thin wire around the cluster, leaving a one-inch spike at the bottom.
    • The thin bark had been stripped all the way around for two to three feet.
    • The keypad lights up a shaded blue, and the buttons are thin and stylish.
    • Homemade decorations using herbs such as cinnamon sticks and whole star anise can be strung together with thin ribbon or raffia and hung from the branches for a different look.
    • One particular 20 yard stretch of rail is held down on one side by just one thin clip; the rest are either missing or so bent that they are not securing the rail at all.
    • He shook his head and pressed his lips together in a thin line.
    • Generally, the cylinder and the cylinder head bolt together with a thin gasket pressed between them to ensure a good seal.
    • The key lime was pleasantly tart, on a nice thin crust.
    • Only a thin layer at the surface thaws during summer.
    • Another method of treatment is acupuncture, which involves the insertion of thin needles into the body to regulate and redirect the flow of qi.
    • The stations were separated by thin partitions and the side walls were painted drywall.
    • There is a relatively thin crust of ice, but most of the water is liquid.
    • These traditional Italian style pizzas are thin and crisp and loaded with delicate, subtle flavours and topped with mozzarella cheese.
    • It was a simple dish made up of thin slices of perfectly cooked beef and onions, served with a generous amount of a light gravy with hints of Asian flavourings.
    • To serve, place the salmon skin side down and slice horizontally into thin pieces.
    • Creeping plants such as the ivy may be joined together by thin wire.
    • Polycarbonate is a tough, transparent thermoplastic that's used to make thin, light lenses.
    Synonyms
    narrow, fine, pencil-thin, thread-like, attenuated
    rare attenuate
    wafer-thin, paper-thin, papery
    1. 1.1 (of a garment or other knitted or woven item) made of light material.
      (衣服,织物)轻薄的,凉爽的
      his thin jacket
      Example sentencesExamples
      • Will ran towards the outer courtyard, Sibyl in close pursuit, noticeably slowed down by her thin shoes and bulky dress.
      • A thin, translucent organza material partially hid the silver tasseled white sheets from view.
      • His muscular chest was well defined through the thin shirt he wore.
      • Lining one side were six feather pillows and covering the floor was a thin rug on which sat a bottle of wine and two glasses.
      • The cigarette burned a hole in Adam's thin sleeve and stung his arm.
      • The weather was fairly warm for Spring, so the boys were fine in their thin clothing.
      • The dress was long, but the thin material was light and loose, making it easy to walk and move.
      • The ground was very wet and I felt it almost at once through my thin boots.
      • The woman was only wearing a thin jumper and was shivering, so the girls braved the cold wind and Danika gave her coat to the woman, while Jody donated her scarf.
      • He was smiling openly at her, wearing just a thin shirt and trousers.
      • Wear layers of thin clothes rather than one thick layer - the warmth from your body will get trapped between the layers, keeping you warmer.
      • She began to feel her thin shoes break under her, and the muscles in her thighs started to burn with fury from the intense climb.
      • Only thin sleeves split down the inside covered her arms.
      • Wear a warm hat to guard against heat loss from your head and if your hands are susceptible to the cold then wear some thin gloves.
      • And the thin jacket she'd worn did nothing to ward off the distinct chill that heralded coming rain.
      • Her veil was thin, and woven and accommodated little sprinkles everywhere.
      • The neckline curved down low, and was layered under a thin see-through material that shimmered.
      • Her own shoes were so thin, and her steps so graceful that they hardly made a sound.
      • Spraying repellent on clothing can be useful, as mosquitoes can bite through thin fabrics.
      • She wore a thin shirt, and long skirt, with high heels to make her seem taller.
      Synonyms
      lightweight, light, fine, delicate, floaty, flimsy, diaphanous, gossamer, insubstantial
      sheer, gauzy, filmy, chiffony, transparent, see-through, translucent
    2. 1.2 (of a garment or fabric) having become less thick as a result of wear.
      our clothing was getting thin
      Example sentencesExamples
      • They both were wearing very thin shirts with a ton of holes in them.
      • His too-big jeans were ripped in the knees, and his tee shirt was worn into a thin fabric.
      Synonyms
      worn, well worn, old, worn out, holey, moth-eaten, mangy, ragged, frayed, tattered, battered
    3. 1.3 (of writing or printing) consisting of narrow lines.
      (字体)细体的
      tall, thin lettering

      瘦长字体。

      Example sentencesExamples
      • It reminds me of the old digital watch I had as a kid, with thin black lettering on the grey screen.
      • In thin gilt lettering on the creamy white of the menu, how little those words conveyed to the bulk of the imperfectly educated diners.
      Synonyms
      narrow, fine, pencil-thin, thread-like, attenuated
  • 2Having little, or too little, flesh or fat on the body.

    (人)瘦(削)的

    a thin, gawky adolescent
    Example sentencesExamples
    • They were an oddly diverse group, one man was short and heavy, two others were tall and muscular, and the other two looked rather thin and weak.
    • His face was just a little pale and he was thin; nowhere close to looking starved, but he was thinner than he should be.
    • The director is tall and thin with good posture, and he appears neither old nor young.
    • Rakishly thin, he wore tattered cords that rode half way up his skeleton legs.
    • He was thin but far from weak and stood about six-foot tall.
    • She is skeletally thin, with hollow, cadaverous eyes and cheeks.
    • He is so thin and reedy you worried for his balance when the wind picked up, but he moves with soft, sumptuous delicacy.
    • His baggy black clothing made him look thin and weak.
    • I almost felt sorry for Nicola, who's grown painfully thin.
    • He was already walking a fine line between thin and skeletal when we met, but now he just looks ill.
    • He got thin and weak and seeing my father like this was not the easiest of experiences in my life.
    • If you're naturally thin, you might fill out a little more after puberty, but then again, you might not.
    • Lily, on the other hand, was dark headed, short but thin, and relatively quiet.
    • I see a thin, bearded guy wearing a thick turtleneck sweater, spooning coffee into a mug in his small flat, scowling at the newspaper.
    • It was a woman, tall and thin, smiling and leaning against a fence.
    • If you could point to a line of fat or thin people stretching back generations, I'd accept that, but in general the number of people whose body shape is determined by their genes is very small.
    • So what motivated her to drop from a healthy 130 pounds to being so thin that today she wears a pair of flannel pants under her size one jeans just to hold them up?
    • And the public wonders why people in the fashion industry are so thin!
    • He was thin and weak, and his voice was almost inaudible despite the relative quiet of a teaching hospital side room.
    • She looked very thin, weak and pale and was shivering.
    Synonyms
    slim, lean, slender, rangy, willowy, svelte, sylphlike, spare, slight
    skinny, underweight, scrawny, scraggy, bony, angular, raw-boned, hollow-cheeked, gaunt, as thin as a rake, as thin as a reed, like a matchstick, stick-like, size-zero, skin-and-bones, emaciated, skeletal, cadaverous, like a skeleton, wasted, pinched, undernourished, underfed
    lanky, spindly, stringy, gangly, gangling, reedy, weedy
    informal looking like a bag of bones, anorexic, anorectic
    dated spindle-shanked
    rare gracile, starveling, macilent
  • 3Having few parts or members relative to the area covered or filled; sparse.

    稀少的,稀疏的;缺乏的

    a depressingly thin crowd

    令人沮丧的稀稀拉拉的一堆人。

    his hair was going thin

    他的头发日渐稀少了。

    Example sentencesExamples
    • Their fur was thickest in patches on the head and groin, elsewhere it was thin and limited.
    • There seems to have been at most a thin trickle of men directly from northern France into Scotland, and there is little evidence of migration directly from the Continent to Ireland.
    • The forest started to looked thinner, and he thought he'd found something.
    • Others argue that allied troops are too thin on the ground to make any difference.
    Synonyms
    sparse, scanty, wispy, thinning
    meagre, paltry, poor, inadequate, insufficient, sparse, scanty, scattered
    1. 3.1 (of the air or a substance in the air) not dense.
      the thin cold air of the mountains

      山中稀薄的冷空气。

      Example sentencesExamples
      • He wrote about what it was like to live and die where the air is so thin that every breath is a triumph.
      • She has trained at Flagstaff in Arizona, again using the thin air at high altitude to stretch her limbs and clear her mind.
      • Its average elevation is 13,000 feet, making the air rather thin and cold, and ten peaks top 20,000 feet.
      • Last weeks's scorching heat in Jakarta happened because the humidity in Jakarta was low and the clouds were thin, so the heat of the sun was unobstructed.
      • A thin veil of fog had rolled in off the bay, obscuring his view and coating the area in a pale gray-white mist.
      • So some astronomers are quite keen to set up their instruments in Antarctica to take advantage of the thin, cold air.
      • Such journeying to cold, high places where the air is thin requires lengthy preparation for the most severe conditions conceivable.
      • The morning started fine, with a little high thin cloud, but still and very cold.
      • You are about 27,000 feet up in the Earth's atmosphere, the air is thin, you are using an oxygen tank.
      • They hope to complete the trek in five days, but it presents problems because they will be walking at altitudes of up to 14,000 ft, where the air is thin.
      • A hole has been torn in the thin veil of ozone just above the Antarctic.
      • The route itself can be slick and frozen over, and exhausted runners may be prone to hypothermia in the thin, cold air.
      • Winding down My head ached, and my throat was dry from the dehydrating effects of flying, and too much cold, thin air.
      • She said she had recently hiked for four days in the thin air of Yosemite National Park.
      • In addition, she suffers from asthma, which makes mountain races, where the air is thin, particularly difficult.
      • The air is so thin it is incapable of supporting life.
      • The air was thin up here, but he was used to going up high and knew how to control his breathing so he didn't get lightheaded.
      • The day dawned gray and chill, a thin mist turning Baghdad's usually dry air damp.
      • The air is thin up there, and only the most able should attempt to scale those peaks.
      • Therefore, the air is thin, dry and your body receives about 50 percent less oxygen than at sea level.
      Synonyms
      rarefied
    2. 3.2Climbing Denoting a route on which the holds are small or scarce.
      〔登山〕难找到手攀(或脚踏)处的
      Example sentencesExamples
      • Follow the thin right fork through to easier ground and the top.
      • There is a bolt right before a thin little crux move.
      • Fifteen feet of traversing to reach a thin finger crack lay ahead.
      • There, a series of thin moves leads you up the remainder of the corner, then you end up facing a traverse to the right under a huge, overhanging roof.
      • This is a shoe that excels when face climbing or thin crack climbing.
  • 4(of a liquid substance) not containing much solid; flowing freely.

    thin soup

    清汤。

    Example sentencesExamples
    • If the liquid is too thin for a gravy, just put it in a pan on the stovetop and boil it down to reduce to a nice consistency.
    • Do not swallow anything until it is a thin liquid pulp.
    • In several test tubes and bottles were thin, multicolored liquids.
    • They can vary in size and contain liquid that is thin and watery, or thicker and paste-like.
    • Yet, there really was nothing unusual about the soup, merely a thin beef broth with onions.
    • Rarely, a patient may be limited to foods with a pudding consistency if thin and thick liquids are freely aspirated.
    • The mild tartness of the thin liquid cut through the dust and diesel fumes.
    • He invited the wealthy man to dinner, which consisted of old hard bread and thin vegetable soup.
    • Regardless of its ethnic origins, it will be a thin, brown liquid, made from fermented fish and salt.
    • He painted in thin oils with a bright palette in a freely painted technique which allowed the white of the exposed canvas to give added luminosity.
    • A thin cornmeal soup was frequently made, to which pieces of meat, fish, or other foods could be added.
    • In any case, the fluid is clear and thin but quite strong, and isn't easily rubbed into skin.
    • If no frank perforation is seen, thin barium liquid should be used to identify lacerations that may otherwise be missed.
    • If there is only a slight excess of sugar over the normal saturation level, the supercooled liquid is a thin syrup.
    • At the moment the boys exist on an unchanging and meagre diet of bread and milk for breakfast, potato and rice for lunch and thin vegetable soup for dinner.
    • If you are one of those frailer and more malnourished types, you should eat light nourishing soups or thin rice porridge.
    • Twice a day inmates receive two pieces of dry bread and weak tea; at midday they are handed a portion of soup or thin gruel.
    • The surrounding tissue swells up and thin pus leaks through narrow passages called sinuses onto the surface of the skin.
    • The béarnaise sauce was now so thin and runny it had the consistency of water and didn't taste good at all.
    • In a dark corner, two fighters are dozing while a thin potato and lamb soup simmers on the stove.
    Synonyms
    watery, watered down, weak, dilute, diluted, thinned down
    runny, sloppy
    South African slap
  • 5Lacking substance or quality; weak or inadequate.

    the evidence is rather thin

    证据根本不足于服人。

    Example sentencesExamples
    • Further investment in players may improve their weak defence or thin squad, but would disrupt the team spirit which has thus far carried them to the heady heights of fourth.
    • My only gripe is that, for the price, it's a little on the thin side.
    • It's weak, it's thin, it's insipid and it's desperately unsatisfying.
    • Mr. Bennett also thinks that I run a pretty thin political blog and shouldn't have been nominated in that category.
    • This vital missing ingredient leaves the characterisation grossly underdeveloped, and the plot, somewhat on the thin side.
    • Densely plotted and vividly acted, the film's abundance of ideas and intrigue wind up stretched perilously thin.
    • This form, music video, paired popular songs with series of incoherent images held together by thin narratives.
    • He also tried to dispel the belief that the government had a thin legislative agenda.
    • He was their speed receiver, and his departure leaves them thin at the position.
    • Such an attitude is a thin cover for right-wing politics.
    • The supplements on Disc Two are surprisingly thin and lacking in substance.
    • The focus on each is spread a bit too thin, so the connections between them are never clear enough.
    • I found the explanation for the campaign material disappointing and a bit thin.
    • But as a reason to renounce my citizenship, it's a thin one.
    • Could there be a connection between fat pay for directors and thin returns for shareholders?
    • If formal sources of law, and the law they produce, have become too thin and weak for the tasks they should accomplish, supportive normativity may be found in tradition.
    • His confessions of guilt are merely a thin cover for re-emergent desires within the German ruling class.
    • It sounds a bit thin compared to finding the cure for diseases or inventing those dimples that make golf balls fly farther, but I am sure it must have some value.
    • The plotline is relatively thin, relying on the quantity of ghosts and potential gruesome deaths to keep the story going until its climatic end.
    • The film is really just a series of slickly filmed action sequences dangling off a thin plot and held together by the force of Jackson's charisma.
    Synonyms
    insubstantial, flimsy, slight, feeble, lame, poor, weak, shallow, tenuous, threadbare, inadequate, insufficient
    unconvincing, unbelievable, implausible
    1. 5.1 (of a sound) faint and high-pitched.
      (声音)细的;尖的
      a thin, reedy little voice

      尖细的微弱声音。

      Example sentencesExamples
      • Then you hear them reading their poems and instead of rich and resonant voice full of authority and confidence there's a thin, reedy croak.
      • His muse, whilst sounding thin and mean vocally, comes to life through her guitar.
      • But they were uncomfortable and sounded thin and tinny to my ear.
      • Her voice was thin and reedy; her throat clicked drily as she tried to swallow.
      • Her once powerful wail was gone, and in its place was a thin weeping sound that broke her mother's heart whenever she heard it.
      • The sound they made was thin and their dance routines were basic.
      • The audio is thin and pinched, with a definite canned quality.
      • The previous CDs had a thin string sound and the bass was simply not there.
      • The string tone is thin, but the sound has an attractive warmth overall.
      • His laughter was thin, though, lacking the warmth of a real man's laughter.
      • His terror threatened to overwhelm him as he dived for the handlebars with a thin squeak escaping his lips.
      • The vocals are weak and thin, more whiny than appealing.
      • It's sort of reedy and thin and breathless; she always sounds a bit too worried and self-conscious to really lose herself in the music.
      • If her top notes sound thin, she's matched at the other end of the scale by Paul, whose bottom notes almost disappear.
      • Did it matter if the wee soul's voice sounded a bit thin in the recording studio, so a professional session singer was brought in to beef it up a bit?
      • Behind that sound, hidden in it, was the thin, faint sound of a woman's distant scream, coming from inside the building.
      • The pictures on the office wall were all of autumn landscapes, the dry leaves matched by the thin, reedy tones of the ageing former revolutionary behind the desk.
      • While dialog is always audible, the sound is thin and harsh, especially during the music.
      • Technically the picture is often subpar, and the sound is rather thin and tinny.
      • The audio isn't quite as good; it sounds thin overall, but you can still easily understand all of the dialogue.
      Synonyms
      weak, faint, feeble, small, soft, low
      reedy, high-pitched
    2. 5.2 (of a smile) weak and forced.
      (笑容)淡淡的,勉强的
      Example sentencesExamples
      • He gave me a brief, thin smile that seemed more for my benefit than his.
      • One by one, in order of seniority, employees' names were called and they trooped forward to receive a thin smile and an envelope from Eloise.
      • Isabella glanced at Audrey out of the corner of her eye, masking her surprise with a thin smile.
      • Troy's thin smile was cautious, guarded, like he was afraid of something.
      • He sat across from her, studying her with that thin smile.
      • I nod and manage a thin smile that offers her some comfort.
      • ‘It was quite a nasty fall,’ he explained, a thin smile forming on his lips in recognition of the understatement.
      • She looked paler than ever, but there was a thin smile on her face.
      • Gwen nodded weakly and Hannah just gave her a small thin smile.
      • A thin smile crossed her face as she turned back to the console.
      • Dylan just stares blankly into the camera with a thin smile on his face.
      • Anthony and I stared at him and smiled thin smiles, desperate not to catch each other's eye.
      • I stood over him, arms crossed, a thin smile on my face.
      • She gives him a thin smile and the ticket he'd given her earlier.
      • She gave me a thin smile and turned back to whatever she was doing.
      • I especially don't want to be welcomed and have to respond to friendly questions with a thin, watery smile and inane small talk.
      • Emerging from the sitting room into the hall, her smile is thin and set and she disappears immediately.
      • The affection in his voice made her feel a bit better and she settled back into her seat with a thin smile.
      • The invitation, offered with a thin smile, comes out of the blue.
      • Baron stifled his angry response and forced a thin smile instead.
adverb θɪnθɪn
  • With little thickness or depth.

    薄;细;稀;疏;淡;微

    cut the ham as thin as possible

    尽量切细。

    in combination a thin-sliced loaf
    Example sentencesExamples
    • The sashimi can be wonderful, cut translucently thin and ingeniously arranged.
    • The homemade onion rings are even better, cut thin and lightly battered so there's a nice balance between crust and juicy onion.
verbthinned, thinning, thins θɪnθɪn
  • 1Make or become less dense, crowded, or numerous.

    使稀薄(或稀疏、减少);变稀薄(或稀疏),变少

    with object the remorseless fire of archers thinned their ranks

    弓箭手残忍的射击使他们的人数减少了。

    no object the trees began to thin out

    树木开始凋零。

    Example sentencesExamples
    • The crowd began to thin out so early it looked as if someone had spread a rumor that the police were going to raid the place.
    • After a few miles our path curved away from the river, the trees thinned out, and we came upon, wonder of wonders, a proper town.
    • We'll open up at 9am and stay open until 3pm or whenever the crowds thin out.
    • His prodigious belly shrinks and his beard thins.
    • The celebration continues through Sunday when the crowd begins to thin out.
    • Unable to resist such a challenge, I waited for the crowd to thin out and finally introduced myself to an attractive woman with a melodious accent.
    • The whiting have started to thin out although the blackfish have picked up a bit.
    • Beyond here, the path dawdles up past imposing villas and more humble caprese dwellings until the houses thin out and the going gets steep.
    • Mini-grafts of hair are harvested from the back of the head and replanted in thinning areas of hair.
    • To thin out thicker hair and give it a softer finish, Campbell prefers razor cutting over buzz cuts.
    • They approached the first crossroad and turned right, the road soon becoming smoother and wider as the trees started to thin.
    • He floats down river in this fashion and before long, the trees begin to thin.
    • As their numbers thin out, they turn on each other, in an attempt to figure out who is the killer.
    • But when it comes to the lost causes, the inevitable setbacks, the small defeats, the crowds thin out quickly.
    • The crowd began to thin out but not so that the bar was entirely empty.
    • At first I thought I was just imagining it, but then it became clear that the trees were thinning out.
    • I have bare patches around the edges and thinning areas in the middle.
    • While they are effective, side effects can include loss of libido and bone thinning.
    • As they walked, the ground gradually began to level out and the trees thinned.
    • Perhaps the most telling sign of the night was that the crowd actually started to thin out as their set continued.
    Synonyms
    become less dense/numerous, decrease, diminish, dwindle, lessen, become less in number
    disperse, dissipate, scatter
    prune, cut back, trim
    technical single
    1. 1.1with object Remove some plants from (a row or area) to allow the others more room to grow.
      给…间苗,间开
      thin out the rows of peas

      把已越冬的一排排豆子间开。

      Example sentencesExamples
      • Rows were thinned to provide an even plant spacing and each plant marked with a numbered stake.
      • When your plants start to show a couple of leaves, thin them back a little, then a little more as they get taller, until they're at least eight inches apart.
      • Do you feel guilty when you have to thin out seedlings?
      • The seedlings were later thinned to two plants per pot.
      • The rule specifically gives the U.S. Forest Service the power to build a road, fight a fire or thin an area to reduce fire risk.
      • Seven days after planting, the seedlings were thinned to one plant per pot.
      • Some of the trees have grown so fast that decisions need to be made as to whether they are to be thinned or allowed to develop into copses.
      • After germination, seedlings were thinned to five plants per pot.
      • Try growing some in a large clay pot, thinning the seedlings as they grow to just 1 or 2 per pot.
      • Another crucial key to success is thinning seedlings, especially those that have broadcast directly into beds.
      • Plants were thinned to five plants per pot after seedling emergence.
      • In all experiments, rows produced by paper-ribbon sowing were thinned to one plant per site immediately after seedling emergence.
      • The plants are best thinned to about 15 inches apart because of their spreading habit.
      • When the tops of the carrots grow thicker, thin them to about two to three inches apart.
      • Seven days after sowing, each pot was thinned to 11 plants.
      • You should thin the seedlings until they are about one foot apart.
      • The plants were thinned 10-12 days after germination to give an average of 20 plants, uniformly distributed per pot.
      • The plants need to be thinned to about 150 mm apart, unless you want to grow them closer together for young and tender mini-leeks.
      • It is hoped that by thinning the area around the veteran oaks, it will encourage the public to enjoy the view of the trees.
      • If too many seedlings appear, thin the plants to about 5 inches apart.
    2. 1.2 Make or become more watery in consistency.
      使变稀(或不黏稠)
      with object if the soup is too thick, add a little water to thin it down

      如果汤太浓,就加点水把它兑稀点。

      no object the blood thins

      血液浓度降低了。

      Example sentencesExamples
      • Heat through, adding water to thin to desired consistency.
      • Add enough water to thin the consistency of the dressing so it can be drizzled over salad.
      • If the policemen had questioned the mother, she could have explained that her son required regular injections to thin his blood because of a thrombosis.
      • Although the benefits of ginkgo are not clearly understood, it is believed that it may improve blood flow to the brain by thinning the blood.
      • Oil paint can be thinned to a watery consistency or brushed on with thick luscious strokes.
      • The chemical, salicylic acid, is an active ingredient in aspirin, which is known to thin the blood and reduce the risk of heart disease and bowel cancer.
      • Pureed and thinned with a little stock syrup, it makes a coulis to accompany baked lemon cheesecake or a passionfruit mousse.
      • Although these drugs are sometimes called blood thinners, they do not actually thin the blood.
      • Aspirin's ability to thin the blood has led to its use in preventing heart attacks and strokes.
      • Taking supplements, even vitamin E, known to thin blood, is safe.
      • I have had heart bypass surgery and am on medication to thin my blood.
      • Jordan has to take aspirin every day to thin his blood, and has been told he could be on medication for the rest of his life.
      • Aspirin has been used to treat heart disease because it thins blood and prevents clots.
      • This thins the blood and can help to prevent the clot that is blocking the coronary artery from spreading.
      • A side effect common to all anticoagulants is the risk of excessive bleeding, due to the blood being thinned.
      • Specialists can diagnose the condition with a simple blood test, and treatment normally includes medication to thin the blood.
      • Warfarin protects those with heart problems by thinning the blood in order to prevent clotting.
      • Neither would I want to give them large amounts of garlic, which thins blood in a similar way.
      • Because vitamin E can thin the blood, high doses might increase the risk of abnormal bleeding.
      • Garlic also thins the blood - so be aware it may increase bleeding.
      Synonyms
      dilute, water down, weaken
  • 2Make or become smaller in thickness.

    使(变)薄(或细)

    with object their effect in thinning the ozone layer is probably slowing the global warming trend

    他们在减小臭氧层方面的作用很可能就是减缓全球变暖的趋势。

    Example sentencesExamples
    • Many doom and gloom headlines often scream about the ozone layer thinning over the poles, and this has given some people the idea that ozone is a harmless gas that protects us from the rays of the sun.
    • This video shows the Antarctic ozone layer thinning during 1998, reaching its thinnest in the southern spring.
    • Posteriorly, the pterygoid thins to less than 1 mm in thickness.
    • The sheet has a maximum thickness of 4 meters at the south end of Flint Ridge State Memorial and an average thickness of 1.5 meters, thinning toward the edges.
    • At Kimmeridge 3, the sandstone body maintains its thickness before thinning rapidly toward Southard Quarry.
    • The ash is local in occurrence; its maximum thickness is about 1m, but it thins laterally to a few tens of centimetres over about 40 m.
    • Today Science tells us the speed of light is decaying, the magnetic field is collapsing, the earth is slowly beginning to wobble on its axis, the protective ozone layer is thinning.
    • The body reaches a thickness of 80 m at Hagevatnet and thins towards the south.
    • Since 1978 Arctic sea ice area has shrunk by some 9 percent per decade, and thinned as well.
    • Over the past 40 years, the Arctic ice pack has thinned and shrunk significantly.
  • 3Golf
    with object Hit (a ball) above its centre.

    〔高尔夫〕打(球的)中上部位

    Example sentencesExamples
    • The lie was not great and the shot was slightly thinned, the ball finishing as much as 40 feet past the cup.
    • That was as close to the ball as you can get without thinning it.
    • Disaster strikes when he thins his pitch from the rough beside the 10th green all the way across the putting surface.
    • The other important moment of his round came soon after noon, when first he mishit his five-iron on the 17th, then thinned the ensuing bunker shot.

Phrases

  • have a thin time

    • informal Have an unpleasant period or experience.

      Example sentencesExamples
      • So we are having a thin time of it, and we'll have to tighten our belt buckles.
      • But cheerleaders for pluralism have a thin time of it these days.
      • The men in green have had a thin time of it recently with injuries and absences stretching the squad to its limit.
      • Many Mexican-Americans in the border states were heavily Indian in ancestry, so Mexicans in the United States had a thin time of it.
      • Vegetarians can have a thin time in this beefy country, though Indian and Italian restaurants are some help, and cheese and eggs are always available.
      • The art market is generally having a thin time, but is the same true at the very top end?
      • Our orchestras are having a thin time of it, and there is genuine concern as to how many orchestras will exist ten years from now.
      • As elsewhere in the region, racing had a thin time during World War I and took time to recover.
      • Actually the Conservatives had a thin time of it in the 19th century, a time when the electorate was restricted by property and house holding qualifications, the party won few elections and, except at the turn of the century, had few extended periods in office.
      • As the twentieth century draws to a close, connoisseurs of colonial nostalgia are, unsurprisingly, having a thin time of it.
  • thin air

    • Used to refer to the state of being invisible or non-existent.

      无影无踪,了无踪影;不存在

      she just vanished into thin air

      她消失得无影无踪。

      Example sentencesExamples
      • They all thought I was so smart but little did they know that I pulled that answer from thin air.
      • I don't think I can conjure up the kind of detail required out of thin air.
      • The museum's alarm went off, but by the time police arrived the culprits had disappeared into thin air.
      • In any event, it was a bravura performance, a long extempore speech, apparently pulled out of thin air.
      • Teaching unions have also joined force to ask how millions of pounds have seemingly disappeared into thin air.
      • Immorality prevails as sympathy for the unfortunate diminishes into thin air.
      • Surely all these people didn't just pluck these things out of thin air and just put them down on paper!
      • He disappears, as if into thin air, leaving me clutching his money in one hand and mine in the other.
      • None of this stuff is new, and who's to say it won't all vanish into thin air?
      • We've seen in the collapse of many technology companies that figures were plucked out of thin air.
  • the thin blue line

    • informal Used to refer to the police, typically in the context of maintaining order during unrest.

      〈非正式〉(多指社会动荡环境下的)警察

      the thin blue line holds the frontier between chaos and civilian life, between crime and the American dream
      Example sentencesExamples
      • Once the thin blue line defending a society's fundamental values, the police have now grotesquely turned into a weapon against them.
      • The repainted patrol cars and bright yellow jackets may seem gimmicky to those who favour the traditional image of the thin blue line.
      • Jack, who retired last Friday from Leigh's community policing team, has been treading the thin blue line since 1974.
      • Look at the tough new border controls and the co-ordination of European police forces manning the thin blue line against the horde.
      • Ex-policemen across Bury are being asked to strengthen the thin blue line.
      • But the thin blue line will be stretched thinner than ever - at least 2,000 officers will cover the main rally in July, more than one in eight of all the officers in Scotland.
      • Every weekend, a group of twenty-somethings turn their backs on Swindon's clubs, pubs and bars to help boost the thin blue line.
      • His self-assurance, generated by his exalted status within the department, is complete; it's what guides him during his regular sorties across the thin blue line, from order into chaos and back again.
      • People living in rural areas need to take precautions and taking care also helps the police - the thin blue line in the countryside.
      • Her description of the thin blue line that stands between the public and chaos looks different from the one portrayed on television.
  • thin on top

    • informal Balding.

      〈非正式〉头发稀疏的

      Eddie noticed he was getting thin on top
      Example sentencesExamples
      • He's going very thin on top, though, which must be worrying.
      • She said particular attention should be paid to shoulders and the backs of feet - the most sensitive areas - while men going thin on top should always wear a hat or use sunblock.
      • It has been said that a large proportion of body heat lost is through the head and, if you are as thin on top as I am, it is not difficult to believe, so wear a hat.
      • He was little, probably a little bit shorter then Adrian and he was a little thin on top.
      • I bought him a toupee once because he is a bit thin on top.
      • By the way, isn't Tommy going really thin on top?
      • And have you noticed that Ed is looking a little thin on top?
      • Boys, you may have noticed I'm no longer going a bit thin on top.
      • He was described as 5ft 7in tall, in his 40s or 50s, with light-coloured hair, which was thin on top.
      • I don't care that he's going thin on top or thick in the middle.
      Synonyms
      losing one's hair, thinning, with receding hair

Derivatives

  • thinnish

  • adjective ˈθɪnɪʃˈθɪnɪʃ
    • She's thinnish and ascetic-looking but quite attractive.
      Example sentencesExamples
      • The starters were poor, though, a thinnish seafood broth with chunks of tinned tomato expiring at the bottom and a ham hough terrine that, while chunkily rustic, contained too much gristle for comfort.
      • The carambola, or five-finger fruit, has a mild but sweet taste, and a thinnish skin.
      • Shake a thinnish layer of instant gravy granules over the mix and stir the whole from edge to centre until it's all absorbed.
      • Although a thinnish volume, be prepared to allow double the time it would usually take to read another book of similar length.

Origin

Old English thynne, of Germanic origin; related to Dutch dun and German dünn, from an Indo-European root shared by Latin tenuis.

  • The Old English word thin shares an ancient root with Latin tenuis ‘thin, fine, shallow’, the source of extenuate (mid 16th century) and tenuous (late 16th century). An action which is unimportant in itself, but likely to lead to more serious developments is sometimes described as the thin end of the wedge. The idea here is of something being levered open by the insertion of the edge of a wedge into a narrow crack to widen the opening so that the thicker part can also pass through. The thin red line used to be a name for the British army, in reference to the traditional scarlet uniform. The phrase first occurs in The Times of 24 January 1855, reporting a debate about the distribution of medals for the Crimean War in the House of Lords at which the Earl of Ellenborough who spoke of ‘the services of that “thin red line” which had met and routed the Russian cavalry.’ It has now become so much part of our language that the colour may be altered to change the meaning—the thin blue line can mean the police force.

Rhymes

agin, akin, begin, Berlin, bin, Boleyn, Bryn, chin, chin-chin, Corinne, din, fin, Finn, Flynn, gaijin, Glyn, grin, Gwyn, herein, Ho Chi Minh, in, inn, Jin, jinn, kin, Kweilin, linn, Lynn, mandolin, mandoline, Min, no-win, pin, Pinyin, quin, shin, sin, skin, spin, therein, Tientsin, tin, Tonkin, Turin, twin, underpin, Vietminh, violin, wherein, whin, whipper-in, win, within, Wynne, yin

Definition of thin in US English:

thin

adjectiveTHinθɪn
  • 1Having opposite surfaces or sides close together; of little thickness or depth.

    薄的;细的

    thin slices of bread

    薄面包片。

    Example sentencesExamples
    • Another method of treatment is acupuncture, which involves the insertion of thin needles into the body to regulate and redirect the flow of qi.
    • He shook his head and pressed his lips together in a thin line.
    • Once you have bunched four or five sprigs together, wind thin wire around the cluster, leaving a one-inch spike at the bottom.
    • The stations were separated by thin partitions and the side walls were painted drywall.
    • The key lime was pleasantly tart, on a nice thin crust.
    • It lifts a thin surface layer of the cornea away from underlying layers.
    • Generally, the cylinder and the cylinder head bolt together with a thin gasket pressed between them to ensure a good seal.
    • Polycarbonate is a tough, transparent thermoplastic that's used to make thin, light lenses.
    • These traditional Italian style pizzas are thin and crisp and loaded with delicate, subtle flavours and topped with mozzarella cheese.
    • To serve, place the salmon skin side down and slice horizontally into thin pieces.
    • Homemade decorations using herbs such as cinnamon sticks and whole star anise can be strung together with thin ribbon or raffia and hung from the branches for a different look.
    • One particular 20 yard stretch of rail is held down on one side by just one thin clip; the rest are either missing or so bent that they are not securing the rail at all.
    • Only a thin layer at the surface thaws during summer.
    • He pulled out a thin strip of metal and put it into the lock.
    • The keypad lights up a shaded blue, and the buttons are thin and stylish.
    • The pudding is made by lining a buttered basin with fairly thin slices of good bread cut to fit exactly.
    • There is a relatively thin crust of ice, but most of the water is liquid.
    • The thin bark had been stripped all the way around for two to three feet.
    • It was a simple dish made up of thin slices of perfectly cooked beef and onions, served with a generous amount of a light gravy with hints of Asian flavourings.
    • Creeping plants such as the ivy may be joined together by thin wire.
    Synonyms
    narrow, fine, pencil-thin, thread-like, attenuated
    wafer-thin, paper-thin, papery
    1. 1.1 (of a garment or other knitted or woven item) made of light material for coolness or elegance.
      (衣服,织物)轻薄的,凉爽的
      Example sentencesExamples
      • Her own shoes were so thin, and her steps so graceful that they hardly made a sound.
      • Will ran towards the outer courtyard, Sibyl in close pursuit, noticeably slowed down by her thin shoes and bulky dress.
      • Lining one side were six feather pillows and covering the floor was a thin rug on which sat a bottle of wine and two glasses.
      • Spraying repellent on clothing can be useful, as mosquitoes can bite through thin fabrics.
      • Only thin sleeves split down the inside covered her arms.
      • His muscular chest was well defined through the thin shirt he wore.
      • The weather was fairly warm for Spring, so the boys were fine in their thin clothing.
      • A thin, translucent organza material partially hid the silver tasseled white sheets from view.
      • The neckline curved down low, and was layered under a thin see-through material that shimmered.
      • The cigarette burned a hole in Adam's thin sleeve and stung his arm.
      • The woman was only wearing a thin jumper and was shivering, so the girls braved the cold wind and Danika gave her coat to the woman, while Jody donated her scarf.
      • Wear layers of thin clothes rather than one thick layer - the warmth from your body will get trapped between the layers, keeping you warmer.
      • She wore a thin shirt, and long skirt, with high heels to make her seem taller.
      • The dress was long, but the thin material was light and loose, making it easy to walk and move.
      • And the thin jacket she'd worn did nothing to ward off the distinct chill that heralded coming rain.
      • He was smiling openly at her, wearing just a thin shirt and trousers.
      • She began to feel her thin shoes break under her, and the muscles in her thighs started to burn with fury from the intense climb.
      • Wear a warm hat to guard against heat loss from your head and if your hands are susceptible to the cold then wear some thin gloves.
      • The ground was very wet and I felt it almost at once through my thin boots.
      • Her veil was thin, and woven and accommodated little sprinkles everywhere.
      Synonyms
      lightweight, light, fine, delicate, floaty, flimsy, diaphanous, gossamer, insubstantial
    2. 1.2 (of a garment) having had a considerable amount of fabric worn away.
      (衣服)磨薄的,不结实的
      Example sentencesExamples
      • His too-big jeans were ripped in the knees, and his tee shirt was worn into a thin fabric.
      • They both were wearing very thin shirts with a ton of holes in them.
      Synonyms
      worn, well worn, old, worn out, holey, moth-eaten, mangy, ragged, frayed, tattered, battered
    3. 1.3 (of script or type) consisting of narrow lines.
      (字体)细体的
      tall, thin lettering

      瘦长字体。

      Example sentencesExamples
      • It reminds me of the old digital watch I had as a kid, with thin black lettering on the grey screen.
      • In thin gilt lettering on the creamy white of the menu, how little those words conveyed to the bulk of the imperfectly educated diners.
      Synonyms
      narrow, fine, pencil-thin, thread-like, attenuated
  • 2(of a person) having little, or too little, flesh or fat on their body.

    (人)瘦(削)的

    she was painfully thin

    她瘦得可怜。

    Example sentencesExamples
    • I see a thin, bearded guy wearing a thick turtleneck sweater, spooning coffee into a mug in his small flat, scowling at the newspaper.
    • The director is tall and thin with good posture, and he appears neither old nor young.
    • If you could point to a line of fat or thin people stretching back generations, I'd accept that, but in general the number of people whose body shape is determined by their genes is very small.
    • His face was just a little pale and he was thin; nowhere close to looking starved, but he was thinner than he should be.
    • She is skeletally thin, with hollow, cadaverous eyes and cheeks.
    • He was thin but far from weak and stood about six-foot tall.
    • And the public wonders why people in the fashion industry are so thin!
    • Rakishly thin, he wore tattered cords that rode half way up his skeleton legs.
    • She looked very thin, weak and pale and was shivering.
    • His baggy black clothing made him look thin and weak.
    • It was a woman, tall and thin, smiling and leaning against a fence.
    • I almost felt sorry for Nicola, who's grown painfully thin.
    • If you're naturally thin, you might fill out a little more after puberty, but then again, you might not.
    • He was thin and weak, and his voice was almost inaudible despite the relative quiet of a teaching hospital side room.
    • Lily, on the other hand, was dark headed, short but thin, and relatively quiet.
    • So what motivated her to drop from a healthy 130 pounds to being so thin that today she wears a pair of flannel pants under her size one jeans just to hold them up?
    • He is so thin and reedy you worried for his balance when the wind picked up, but he moves with soft, sumptuous delicacy.
    • They were an oddly diverse group, one man was short and heavy, two others were tall and muscular, and the other two looked rather thin and weak.
    • He was already walking a fine line between thin and skeletal when we met, but now he just looks ill.
    • He got thin and weak and seeing my father like this was not the easiest of experiences in my life.
    Synonyms
    slim, lean, slender, rangy, willowy, svelte, sylphlike, spare, slight
  • 3Having few parts or members relative to the area covered or filled; sparse.

    稀少的,稀疏的;缺乏的

    a depressingly thin crowd

    令人沮丧的稀稀拉拉的一堆人。

    his hair was going thin

    他的头发日渐稀少了。

    Example sentencesExamples
    • The forest started to looked thinner, and he thought he'd found something.
    • There seems to have been at most a thin trickle of men directly from northern France into Scotland, and there is little evidence of migration directly from the Continent to Ireland.
    • Others argue that allied troops are too thin on the ground to make any difference.
    • Their fur was thickest in patches on the head and groin, elsewhere it was thin and limited.
    Synonyms
    sparse, scanty, wispy, thinning
    meagre, paltry, poor, inadequate, insufficient, sparse, scanty, scattered
    1. 3.1 Not dense.
      稀薄的
      the thin cold air of the mountains

      山中稀薄的冷空气。

      Example sentencesExamples
      • You are about 27,000 feet up in the Earth's atmosphere, the air is thin, you are using an oxygen tank.
      • Last weeks's scorching heat in Jakarta happened because the humidity in Jakarta was low and the clouds were thin, so the heat of the sun was unobstructed.
      • The air is thin up there, and only the most able should attempt to scale those peaks.
      • She said she had recently hiked for four days in the thin air of Yosemite National Park.
      • The air was thin up here, but he was used to going up high and knew how to control his breathing so he didn't get lightheaded.
      • They hope to complete the trek in five days, but it presents problems because they will be walking at altitudes of up to 14,000 ft, where the air is thin.
      • Therefore, the air is thin, dry and your body receives about 50 percent less oxygen than at sea level.
      • Its average elevation is 13,000 feet, making the air rather thin and cold, and ten peaks top 20,000 feet.
      • A thin veil of fog had rolled in off the bay, obscuring his view and coating the area in a pale gray-white mist.
      • Winding down My head ached, and my throat was dry from the dehydrating effects of flying, and too much cold, thin air.
      • The air is so thin it is incapable of supporting life.
      • She has trained at Flagstaff in Arizona, again using the thin air at high altitude to stretch her limbs and clear her mind.
      • In addition, she suffers from asthma, which makes mountain races, where the air is thin, particularly difficult.
      • So some astronomers are quite keen to set up their instruments in Antarctica to take advantage of the thin, cold air.
      • The route itself can be slick and frozen over, and exhausted runners may be prone to hypothermia in the thin, cold air.
      • The day dawned gray and chill, a thin mist turning Baghdad's usually dry air damp.
      • The morning started fine, with a little high thin cloud, but still and very cold.
      • He wrote about what it was like to live and die where the air is so thin that every breath is a triumph.
      • Such journeying to cold, high places where the air is thin requires lengthy preparation for the most severe conditions conceivable.
      • A hole has been torn in the thin veil of ozone just above the Antarctic.
      Synonyms
      rarefied
    2. 3.2Climbing Denoting a route on which the holds are small or scarce.
      〔登山〕难找到手攀(或脚踏)处的
      Example sentencesExamples
      • There is a bolt right before a thin little crux move.
      • This is a shoe that excels when face climbing or thin crack climbing.
      • There, a series of thin moves leads you up the remainder of the corner, then you end up facing a traverse to the right under a huge, overhanging roof.
      • Fifteen feet of traversing to reach a thin finger crack lay ahead.
      • Follow the thin right fork through to easier ground and the top.
  • 4Containing much liquid and not much solid substance.

    稀的,不黏稠的

    thin soup

    清汤。

    Example sentencesExamples
    • In any case, the fluid is clear and thin but quite strong, and isn't easily rubbed into skin.
    • If there is only a slight excess of sugar over the normal saturation level, the supercooled liquid is a thin syrup.
    • Do not swallow anything until it is a thin liquid pulp.
    • Rarely, a patient may be limited to foods with a pudding consistency if thin and thick liquids are freely aspirated.
    • In a dark corner, two fighters are dozing while a thin potato and lamb soup simmers on the stove.
    • At the moment the boys exist on an unchanging and meagre diet of bread and milk for breakfast, potato and rice for lunch and thin vegetable soup for dinner.
    • The béarnaise sauce was now so thin and runny it had the consistency of water and didn't taste good at all.
    • If no frank perforation is seen, thin barium liquid should be used to identify lacerations that may otherwise be missed.
    • Regardless of its ethnic origins, it will be a thin, brown liquid, made from fermented fish and salt.
    • Twice a day inmates receive two pieces of dry bread and weak tea; at midday they are handed a portion of soup or thin gruel.
    • If the liquid is too thin for a gravy, just put it in a pan on the stovetop and boil it down to reduce to a nice consistency.
    • If you are one of those frailer and more malnourished types, you should eat light nourishing soups or thin rice porridge.
    • The surrounding tissue swells up and thin pus leaks through narrow passages called sinuses onto the surface of the skin.
    • A thin cornmeal soup was frequently made, to which pieces of meat, fish, or other foods could be added.
    • Yet, there really was nothing unusual about the soup, merely a thin beef broth with onions.
    • He painted in thin oils with a bright palette in a freely painted technique which allowed the white of the exposed canvas to give added luminosity.
    • They can vary in size and contain liquid that is thin and watery, or thicker and paste-like.
    • He invited the wealthy man to dinner, which consisted of old hard bread and thin vegetable soup.
    • The mild tartness of the thin liquid cut through the dust and diesel fumes.
    • In several test tubes and bottles were thin, multicolored liquids.
    Synonyms
    watery, watered down, weak, dilute, diluted, thinned down
  • 5Too weak to justify a result or effect; inadequate.

    不能令人信服的;不充足的

    the evidence is rather thin

    证据根本不足于服人。

    Example sentencesExamples
    • The plotline is relatively thin, relying on the quantity of ghosts and potential gruesome deaths to keep the story going until its climatic end.
    • The focus on each is spread a bit too thin, so the connections between them are never clear enough.
    • But as a reason to renounce my citizenship, it's a thin one.
    • It's weak, it's thin, it's insipid and it's desperately unsatisfying.
    • His confessions of guilt are merely a thin cover for re-emergent desires within the German ruling class.
    • The supplements on Disc Two are surprisingly thin and lacking in substance.
    • Such an attitude is a thin cover for right-wing politics.
    • Mr. Bennett also thinks that I run a pretty thin political blog and shouldn't have been nominated in that category.
    • My only gripe is that, for the price, it's a little on the thin side.
    • Densely plotted and vividly acted, the film's abundance of ideas and intrigue wind up stretched perilously thin.
    • I found the explanation for the campaign material disappointing and a bit thin.
    • Further investment in players may improve their weak defence or thin squad, but would disrupt the team spirit which has thus far carried them to the heady heights of fourth.
    • He also tried to dispel the belief that the government had a thin legislative agenda.
    • If formal sources of law, and the law they produce, have become too thin and weak for the tasks they should accomplish, supportive normativity may be found in tradition.
    • Could there be a connection between fat pay for directors and thin returns for shareholders?
    • It sounds a bit thin compared to finding the cure for diseases or inventing those dimples that make golf balls fly farther, but I am sure it must have some value.
    • The film is really just a series of slickly filmed action sequences dangling off a thin plot and held together by the force of Jackson's charisma.
    • This form, music video, paired popular songs with series of incoherent images held together by thin narratives.
    • This vital missing ingredient leaves the characterisation grossly underdeveloped, and the plot, somewhat on the thin side.
    • He was their speed receiver, and his departure leaves them thin at the position.
    Synonyms
    insubstantial, flimsy, slight, feeble, lame, poor, weak, shallow, tenuous, threadbare, inadequate, insufficient
    1. 5.1 (of a sound) faint and high-pitched.
      (声音)细的;尖的
      a thin, reedy little voice

      尖细的微弱声音。

      Example sentencesExamples
      • Behind that sound, hidden in it, was the thin, faint sound of a woman's distant scream, coming from inside the building.
      • While dialog is always audible, the sound is thin and harsh, especially during the music.
      • Did it matter if the wee soul's voice sounded a bit thin in the recording studio, so a professional session singer was brought in to beef it up a bit?
      • It's sort of reedy and thin and breathless; she always sounds a bit too worried and self-conscious to really lose herself in the music.
      • Her once powerful wail was gone, and in its place was a thin weeping sound that broke her mother's heart whenever she heard it.
      • If her top notes sound thin, she's matched at the other end of the scale by Paul, whose bottom notes almost disappear.
      • The audio isn't quite as good; it sounds thin overall, but you can still easily understand all of the dialogue.
      • The pictures on the office wall were all of autumn landscapes, the dry leaves matched by the thin, reedy tones of the ageing former revolutionary behind the desk.
      • The string tone is thin, but the sound has an attractive warmth overall.
      • The vocals are weak and thin, more whiny than appealing.
      • The sound they made was thin and their dance routines were basic.
      • Her voice was thin and reedy; her throat clicked drily as she tried to swallow.
      • His terror threatened to overwhelm him as he dived for the handlebars with a thin squeak escaping his lips.
      • His muse, whilst sounding thin and mean vocally, comes to life through her guitar.
      • The audio is thin and pinched, with a definite canned quality.
      • His laughter was thin, though, lacking the warmth of a real man's laughter.
      • Technically the picture is often subpar, and the sound is rather thin and tinny.
      • But they were uncomfortable and sounded thin and tinny to my ear.
      • Then you hear them reading their poems and instead of rich and resonant voice full of authority and confidence there's a thin, reedy croak.
      • The previous CDs had a thin string sound and the bass was simply not there.
      Synonyms
      weak, faint, feeble, small, soft, low
    2. 5.2 (of a smile) weak and forced.
      (笑容)淡淡的,勉强的
      Example sentencesExamples
      • Troy's thin smile was cautious, guarded, like he was afraid of something.
      • One by one, in order of seniority, employees' names were called and they trooped forward to receive a thin smile and an envelope from Eloise.
      • ‘It was quite a nasty fall,’ he explained, a thin smile forming on his lips in recognition of the understatement.
      • She looked paler than ever, but there was a thin smile on her face.
      • He sat across from her, studying her with that thin smile.
      • Dylan just stares blankly into the camera with a thin smile on his face.
      • Anthony and I stared at him and smiled thin smiles, desperate not to catch each other's eye.
      • I stood over him, arms crossed, a thin smile on my face.
      • Baron stifled his angry response and forced a thin smile instead.
      • A thin smile crossed her face as she turned back to the console.
      • The affection in his voice made her feel a bit better and she settled back into her seat with a thin smile.
      • She gives him a thin smile and the ticket he'd given her earlier.
      • I especially don't want to be welcomed and have to respond to friendly questions with a thin, watery smile and inane small talk.
      • He gave me a brief, thin smile that seemed more for my benefit than his.
      • The invitation, offered with a thin smile, comes out of the blue.
      • I nod and manage a thin smile that offers her some comfort.
      • Gwen nodded weakly and Hannah just gave her a small thin smile.
      • Isabella glanced at Audrey out of the corner of her eye, masking her surprise with a thin smile.
      • Emerging from the sitting room into the hall, her smile is thin and set and she disappears immediately.
      • She gave me a thin smile and turned back to whatever she was doing.
adverbTHinθɪn
  • often in combination With little thickness or depth.

    薄;细;稀;疏;淡;微

    cut it as thin as possible

    尽量切细。

    thin-sliced ham

    薄薄的火腿片。

    Example sentencesExamples
    • The sashimi can be wonderful, cut translucently thin and ingeniously arranged.
    • The homemade onion rings are even better, cut thin and lightly battered so there's a nice balance between crust and juicy onion.
verbTHinθɪn
  • 1Make or become less dense, crowded, or numerous.

    使稀薄(或稀疏、减少);变稀薄(或稀疏),变少

    with object the remorseless fire of archers thinned their ranks

    弓箭手残忍的射击使他们的人数减少了。

    no object the trees began to thin out

    树木开始凋零。

    Example sentencesExamples
    • While they are effective, side effects can include loss of libido and bone thinning.
    • I have bare patches around the edges and thinning areas in the middle.
    • They approached the first crossroad and turned right, the road soon becoming smoother and wider as the trees started to thin.
    • His prodigious belly shrinks and his beard thins.
    • Beyond here, the path dawdles up past imposing villas and more humble caprese dwellings until the houses thin out and the going gets steep.
    • He floats down river in this fashion and before long, the trees begin to thin.
    • The whiting have started to thin out although the blackfish have picked up a bit.
    • The crowd began to thin out so early it looked as if someone had spread a rumor that the police were going to raid the place.
    • Mini-grafts of hair are harvested from the back of the head and replanted in thinning areas of hair.
    • At first I thought I was just imagining it, but then it became clear that the trees were thinning out.
    • But when it comes to the lost causes, the inevitable setbacks, the small defeats, the crowds thin out quickly.
    • The crowd began to thin out but not so that the bar was entirely empty.
    • Perhaps the most telling sign of the night was that the crowd actually started to thin out as their set continued.
    • Unable to resist such a challenge, I waited for the crowd to thin out and finally introduced myself to an attractive woman with a melodious accent.
    • The celebration continues through Sunday when the crowd begins to thin out.
    • After a few miles our path curved away from the river, the trees thinned out, and we came upon, wonder of wonders, a proper town.
    • We'll open up at 9am and stay open until 3pm or whenever the crowds thin out.
    • As they walked, the ground gradually began to level out and the trees thinned.
    • As their numbers thin out, they turn on each other, in an attempt to figure out who is the killer.
    • To thin out thicker hair and give it a softer finish, Campbell prefers razor cutting over buzz cuts.
    Synonyms
    become less dense, become less numerous, decrease, diminish, dwindle, lessen, become less in number
    prune, cut back, trim
    1. 1.1with object Remove some plants from (a row or area) to allow the others more room to grow.
      给…间苗,间开
      thin out overwintered rows of peas

      把已越冬的一排排豆子间开。

      Example sentencesExamples
      • If too many seedlings appear, thin the plants to about 5 inches apart.
      • The rule specifically gives the U.S. Forest Service the power to build a road, fight a fire or thin an area to reduce fire risk.
      • Another crucial key to success is thinning seedlings, especially those that have broadcast directly into beds.
      • Plants were thinned to five plants per pot after seedling emergence.
      • The plants need to be thinned to about 150 mm apart, unless you want to grow them closer together for young and tender mini-leeks.
      • The seedlings were later thinned to two plants per pot.
      • Rows were thinned to provide an even plant spacing and each plant marked with a numbered stake.
      • In all experiments, rows produced by paper-ribbon sowing were thinned to one plant per site immediately after seedling emergence.
      • After germination, seedlings were thinned to five plants per pot.
      • Some of the trees have grown so fast that decisions need to be made as to whether they are to be thinned or allowed to develop into copses.
      • The plants were thinned 10-12 days after germination to give an average of 20 plants, uniformly distributed per pot.
      • The plants are best thinned to about 15 inches apart because of their spreading habit.
      • When your plants start to show a couple of leaves, thin them back a little, then a little more as they get taller, until they're at least eight inches apart.
      • You should thin the seedlings until they are about one foot apart.
      • Seven days after sowing, each pot was thinned to 11 plants.
      • It is hoped that by thinning the area around the veteran oaks, it will encourage the public to enjoy the view of the trees.
      • Seven days after planting, the seedlings were thinned to one plant per pot.
      • When the tops of the carrots grow thicker, thin them to about two to three inches apart.
      • Do you feel guilty when you have to thin out seedlings?
      • Try growing some in a large clay pot, thinning the seedlings as they grow to just 1 or 2 per pot.
    2. 1.2 Make or become weaker or more watery.
      使变稀(或不黏稠)
      with object if the soup is too thick, add a little water to thin it down

      如果汤太浓,就加点水把它兑稀点。

      no object the blood thins

      血液浓度降低了。

      Example sentencesExamples
      • Jordan has to take aspirin every day to thin his blood, and has been told he could be on medication for the rest of his life.
      • Add enough water to thin the consistency of the dressing so it can be drizzled over salad.
      • Because vitamin E can thin the blood, high doses might increase the risk of abnormal bleeding.
      • Heat through, adding water to thin to desired consistency.
      • I have had heart bypass surgery and am on medication to thin my blood.
      • Oil paint can be thinned to a watery consistency or brushed on with thick luscious strokes.
      • Neither would I want to give them large amounts of garlic, which thins blood in a similar way.
      • If the policemen had questioned the mother, she could have explained that her son required regular injections to thin his blood because of a thrombosis.
      • Pureed and thinned with a little stock syrup, it makes a coulis to accompany baked lemon cheesecake or a passionfruit mousse.
      • Although the benefits of ginkgo are not clearly understood, it is believed that it may improve blood flow to the brain by thinning the blood.
      • Aspirin has been used to treat heart disease because it thins blood and prevents clots.
      • Aspirin's ability to thin the blood has led to its use in preventing heart attacks and strokes.
      • Although these drugs are sometimes called blood thinners, they do not actually thin the blood.
      • Specialists can diagnose the condition with a simple blood test, and treatment normally includes medication to thin the blood.
      • A side effect common to all anticoagulants is the risk of excessive bleeding, due to the blood being thinned.
      • The chemical, salicylic acid, is an active ingredient in aspirin, which is known to thin the blood and reduce the risk of heart disease and bowel cancer.
      • Taking supplements, even vitamin E, known to thin blood, is safe.
      • Garlic also thins the blood - so be aware it may increase bleeding.
      • Warfarin protects those with heart problems by thinning the blood in order to prevent clotting.
      • This thins the blood and can help to prevent the clot that is blocking the coronary artery from spreading.
      Synonyms
      dilute, water down, weaken
  • 2Make or become smaller in width or thickness.

    使(变)薄(或细)

    with object their effect in thinning the ozone layer is probably slowing the global warming trend

    他们在减小臭氧层方面的作用很可能就是减缓全球变暖的趋势。

    no object the trees have thinned and diminished in size
    Example sentencesExamples
    • Over the past 40 years, the Arctic ice pack has thinned and shrunk significantly.
    • At Kimmeridge 3, the sandstone body maintains its thickness before thinning rapidly toward Southard Quarry.
    • This video shows the Antarctic ozone layer thinning during 1998, reaching its thinnest in the southern spring.
    • The body reaches a thickness of 80 m at Hagevatnet and thins towards the south.
    • Posteriorly, the pterygoid thins to less than 1 mm in thickness.
    • Today Science tells us the speed of light is decaying, the magnetic field is collapsing, the earth is slowly beginning to wobble on its axis, the protective ozone layer is thinning.
    • The ash is local in occurrence; its maximum thickness is about 1m, but it thins laterally to a few tens of centimetres over about 40 m.
    • The sheet has a maximum thickness of 4 meters at the south end of Flint Ridge State Memorial and an average thickness of 1.5 meters, thinning toward the edges.
    • Many doom and gloom headlines often scream about the ozone layer thinning over the poles, and this has given some people the idea that ozone is a harmless gas that protects us from the rays of the sun.
    • Since 1978 Arctic sea ice area has shrunk by some 9 percent per decade, and thinned as well.
  • 3Golf
    with object Hit (a ball) above its center.

    〔高尔夫〕打(球的)中上部位

    Example sentencesExamples
    • That was as close to the ball as you can get without thinning it.
    • The lie was not great and the shot was slightly thinned, the ball finishing as much as 40 feet past the cup.
    • The other important moment of his round came soon after noon, when first he mishit his five-iron on the 17th, then thinned the ensuing bunker shot.
    • Disaster strikes when he thins his pitch from the rough beside the 10th green all the way across the putting surface.

Phrases

  • thin air

    • Used to refer to the state of being invisible or nonexistent.

      无影无踪,了无踪影;不存在

      she just vanished into thin air

      她消失得无影无踪。

      they seemed to pluck numbers out of thin air

      他们似乎在凭空拨弄是非。

      Example sentencesExamples
      • They all thought I was so smart but little did they know that I pulled that answer from thin air.
      • Surely all these people didn't just pluck these things out of thin air and just put them down on paper!
      • Teaching unions have also joined force to ask how millions of pounds have seemingly disappeared into thin air.
      • We've seen in the collapse of many technology companies that figures were plucked out of thin air.
      • He disappears, as if into thin air, leaving me clutching his money in one hand and mine in the other.
      • The museum's alarm went off, but by the time police arrived the culprits had disappeared into thin air.
      • In any event, it was a bravura performance, a long extempore speech, apparently pulled out of thin air.
      • None of this stuff is new, and who's to say it won't all vanish into thin air?
      • I don't think I can conjure up the kind of detail required out of thin air.
      • Immorality prevails as sympathy for the unfortunate diminishes into thin air.
  • the thin blue line

    • informal Used to refer to the police, typically in the context of situations of civil unrest.

      〈非正式〉(多指社会动荡环境下的)警察

      Example sentencesExamples
      • Look at the tough new border controls and the co-ordination of European police forces manning the thin blue line against the horde.
      • People living in rural areas need to take precautions and taking care also helps the police - the thin blue line in the countryside.
      • His self-assurance, generated by his exalted status within the department, is complete; it's what guides him during his regular sorties across the thin blue line, from order into chaos and back again.
      • Her description of the thin blue line that stands between the public and chaos looks different from the one portrayed on television.
      • Every weekend, a group of twenty-somethings turn their backs on Swindon's clubs, pubs and bars to help boost the thin blue line.
      • Once the thin blue line defending a society's fundamental values, the police have now grotesquely turned into a weapon against them.
      • Jack, who retired last Friday from Leigh's community policing team, has been treading the thin blue line since 1974.
      • Ex-policemen across Bury are being asked to strengthen the thin blue line.
      • The repainted patrol cars and bright yellow jackets may seem gimmicky to those who favour the traditional image of the thin blue line.
      • But the thin blue line will be stretched thinner than ever - at least 2,000 officers will cover the main rally in July, more than one in eight of all the officers in Scotland.
  • thin on top

    • informal Balding.

      〈非正式〉头发稀疏的

      Example sentencesExamples
      • And have you noticed that Ed is looking a little thin on top?
      • He's going very thin on top, though, which must be worrying.
      • I bought him a toupee once because he is a bit thin on top.
      • By the way, isn't Tommy going really thin on top?
      • She said particular attention should be paid to shoulders and the backs of feet - the most sensitive areas - while men going thin on top should always wear a hat or use sunblock.
      • I don't care that he's going thin on top or thick in the middle.
      • It has been said that a large proportion of body heat lost is through the head and, if you are as thin on top as I am, it is not difficult to believe, so wear a hat.
      • He was described as 5ft 7in tall, in his 40s or 50s, with light-coloured hair, which was thin on top.
      • Boys, you may have noticed I'm no longer going a bit thin on top.
      • He was little, probably a little bit shorter then Adrian and he was a little thin on top.
      Synonyms
      losing one's hair, thinning, with receding hair

Origin

Old English thynne, of Germanic origin; related to Dutch dun and German dünn, from an Indo-European root shared by Latin tenuis.

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更新时间:2024/9/17 3:45:50