to thin out
4
3.5
- phrasal verb
- /θɪn aʊt/
:
disminuir
- After lunch, the number of customers in the cafe started to thin out, and the atmosphere became quieter.
- crowds thin out
- traffic thins out
- trees thin out
Examples
-
The traffic moved a few feet, then seemed to start thinning out.
Fiction book (1996) -
After a while, traffic thinned out, and they drove by the station again.
Fiction book (2002) -
Eventually, the stream of animals began to thin out, and we knew it was nearly over.
Fiction book (1994) -
Come on over and have a look when this crowd thins out.
Fiction book (2002) -
The number of houses thinned out as the bus climbed the mountain slope.
Fiction book (2002) -
Around him, the crowd is thinning out as men trot in to apply for their respective jobs.
Fiction book (1994) -
Once past the airport, the traffic thinned out and the green of the parkway enveloped them.
Fiction book (2001) -
The long parade of students thins out as it passes the Heights business section with its sandwich shops and candy stores.
Fiction book (2002) -
When Cory and Nat went downstairs again with their drawings, the crowd had thinned out a bit.
Fiction book (1996) -
The forest had begun to thin out; Lucian glimpsed high crags in the distance, and Joy-in-the-Dance headed straight toward them.
Fiction book (1995)
Synonyms
72
5.1
To become smaller or less in number over time
38
1.4
To become less thick or crowded, for example a crowd
21
3.5
To become less in number or amount
19
4.3
To become less in amount or quality
9
5.6
To slowly become weaker and then stop
9
4.5
To become smaller or weaker over time until it stops
1
4.6
Slowly get smaller in number or amount until nothing remains
1
5.1
To become slowly smaller or less until almost nothing remains
To make air or other things thinner so they have more empty space
Antonyms
How Dense
4
3.5
89
2.8
Surface Forms
Morphology
The verb 'thin' (to make less dense) combined with the particle 'out' produces a meaning that is directly inferable — to make fewer or more sparsely distributed — following a common English verb + particle composition. This compositional pattern is cross-linguistically common and would be understandable to a B1 learner who knows both constituents.
Etymology
The verb thin out paints a simple picture: as people leave, the group becomes more spread out and looks thin. So it means 'to become fewer or less crowded'.