Skip to main content
Glite Dictionary
📏 Not thick 🧍 Slim or skinny 🪶 Weak or not strong 💧 To dilute
to thin

to thin

38 1.4
To become less thick or crowded, for example a crowd
  • verb
  • /θɪn/
translation icon : disminuir
  • Eventually, the stream of animals began to thin out, and we knew it was nearly over.
  • thin out gradually
  • thin the ranks
  • thin forests

And the problem was my body heat would start to kind of make it thinner.

Autoplay Next

Examples

  • We'll thin this out, Howard.

    Turner & Hooch (1989)

  • So with things like peas, peas, you want to thin to one plant per cell.

  • So I can kind of thin my line and I can just play around.

  • And even my face, I want to make sure I really thin it out on my face.

  • Look at that, I should thin these now and leave the strongest looking one there.

  • I'm thinking I'll go out and thin it out.

    Swamp Devil (2008)

  • Let's thin it out a bit in the foreground.

    Fedora (1978)

  • I don't know if you've realized, but recently I've started to thin out myself.

    She's the Man (2006)

  • The remaining stumps then sprout new shoots, which are examined and thinned the following year to encourage new growth.

    Academic text (1999)

  • Add water to thin the paint so it flows better.

Synonyms

to reduce
vsto thin
∞ 1.6

To make something smaller in amount, size, or number

is the specific lowering of thickness or concentration rather than any decrease
to cut
vsto thin
  • Specialized
106 6.0

To make a liquid less strong by adding another liquid

is the broader process of reducing thickness or strength overall
to attenuate
vsto thin
9 7.9

To make something weaker, like sound or light

is more about reducing thickness or concentration specifically rather than all weakness
to thin out
vsto thin
2 3.7

Make a drink weaker by adding water or another liquid

is the general action of making something less thick or dense
dilute
vsto thin
1 4.2

A liquid that is weaker after adding water

is broader, meaning make less thick or concentrated by any method
to rarefy
vsto thin
  • Specialized
9.9

To make air or other things thinner so they have more empty space

is about lowering thickness or concentration rather than creating airiness

Antonyms

to concentrate
83 4.4

To make a liquid thicker by removing water

to thicken
35 2.3

Become or make something less runny

Idioms

into thin air
26 6.3

Disappear completely with no trace left

out of thin air
25 5.8

Suddenly with no clear reason, like magic

on thin ice
  • Informal
20 6.2

In danger of getting into trouble for something you did

thick and thin
  • Informal
11 3.7

To be loyal in good times and bad

through thick and thin
  • Informal
11 3.3

In all situations, both good and bad, people stay loyal and support each other

to disappear into thin air
  • Informal
8 4.4

To vanish suddenly with no trace

to skate on thin ice
  • Informal
1 6.8

To take a risk that can get you in trouble

no matter how thin you slice it
  • Informal
8.4

A fact stays true whatever way you look at it

thin time of it
  • UK
9.2

A period when someone has many problems

Phrasal Verbs

to wear thin
  • Informal
11 6.2

Lose people's trust or patience over time

to spread oneself thin
  • Informal
6 7.0

To try to do too many things at the same time so you cannot do any well

to thin out
  • Informal
5 3.5

Remove some people or things so the rest are more spread out

to thin out
4 3.5

Become fewer and more spread out

to thin the herd
  • Offensive
3 7.4

To reduce the number of animals or people in a group to improve health and balance

to thin out
2 3.7

Make a drink weaker by adding water or another liquid

to wear thin
1 5.6

Become thin or damaged from use, like a carpet

Compounds

thin air
  • Informal
45 5.3

A place where something disappears suddenly and cannot be found

thin-skinned
10 6.1

Feel upset easily when people criticize

paper-thin
8 3.9

Very thin and easily damaged, like a sheet of paper

razor-thin
7 4.4

Very small in amount or size, often for close results

thin person
4 2.1

A person who has very little body fat and looks underweight

wafer-thin
1 3.7

Very flat with almost no height, like a sheet of paper

thin blue line
  • UK
1 7.4

A symbol showing police protect society from disorder and stand together

gossamer-thin
7.3

Very thin and light, like a fine spider web

thin-leaved bilberry
  • Specialized
9.9

A small upright plant like a blueberry that grows in western US mountains and makes sour berries

thin-leaved stringybark
  • Australian
9.9

An Australian eucalyptus tree with thin leaves and stringy bark

thin-shelled
3.8

Having a thin shell that is easily broken

thin-shelled mussel
  • Specialized
7.4

A shellfish with a thin fragile shell that can be easily crushed

How Thin

dilute
1 4.2
to thin
38 1.4
to water down
  • Informal
14 4.0

Surface Forms

thin infinitive
thinned past
thinned past participle
thinning present participle
thins third person singular

Etymology

Thin comes from Old English thynne, 'not thick', and as a verb it means to make or become less thick or less crowded. So to thin a sauce or to thin a crowd is to reduce its thickness or number.