1
: a soft faintly bluish-white lustrous low-melting crystalline metallic element with atomic number 50 that is malleable and ductile at ordinary temperatures and that is used especially in containers, as a protective coating, in tinfoil, and in soft solders and alloys
—often used before another noun
tin cans
a tin roof
see Chemical Elements Table
2
plural tins
a
: a box, can, pan, vessel, or a sheet made of tinplate
broadly
: such a container of any metal (such as aluminum)
b
: a metal container and its contents
a tin of tomatoes
tin
adjective
tinned; tinning
1
: to cover or plate with tin or a tin alloy
2
: to put up or pack in tins : can
tinned peaches
taxpayer identification number
Examples of tin in a Sentence
Noun
row upon row of tins containing food for an emergency that never happened
Recent Examples on the Web
Jessica Dinapoli, The Christian Science Monitor, 9 Apr. 2024
Dave hands me a small tin filled with a fragrant salve.
—Stefanie Waldek, Travel + Leisure, 6 Apr. 2024
The major mineral components between the samples were also relatively alike, except for higher levels of lead, tin, iron, and other trace minerals found in the Shackleton whole milk powder.
—Laura Baisas, Popular Science, 28 Mar. 2024
Those who bring their empty tins back to the store get a $5 discount on refills and $2 off on tub refills.
—Brianna Taylor, Sacramento Bee, 22 Mar. 2024
Much in the way the movie shifted ticket sales into overdrive with audiences, sales of the Barbie car popcorn tin drove up profits for AMC's collectible sales.
—Tim Lammers, Forbes, 1 Mar. 2024
An officer took pity, though, and escorted him to the luggage hold — a tin shed with a dirt floor.
—Grayson Haver Currin, New York Times, 27 Mar. 2024
As the conservator announced in a Facebook post, the artifact is about an inch (2.8 centimeters) wide, 0.04 inches (about a millimeter) thick and made of lead and tin alloy.
—Sonja Anderson, Smithsonian Magazine, 21 Mar. 2024
Earlier this month, the manufacturer of Walmart’s Great Value Honey Roasted Cashews recalled the product due to unlabeled allergens after some tins were found to contain coconut and milk.
—Caroline Petrow-Cohen, Los Angeles Times, 19 Mar. 2024
Detroit Free Press, 6 Mar. 2024
Add remaining ingredients to tin, shake and fine strain into coupe glass.
—Jillian Dara, Forbes, 27 Feb. 2024
Hearts of palm—those tinned, briny, squeaky stalks from the pickle aisle—made their way into innumerable pasta, salad, and dip recipes of the late ’90s and early aughts.
—Antara Sinha, Bon Appétit, 28 Aug. 2023
To be in on the food scene is to be a part of a cool-kids club—dirty martini in one hand and tinned fish in the other.
—Kris Martins, Glamour, 10 Aug. 2023
The store’s shelves are stocked with sausages, many-layered honey cake, tinned sprats from Latvia, and other Eastern European goods.
—Globe Staff, BostonGlobe.com, 11 July 2023
Everything was raw or pickled or tinned, set out family-style in the middle of the table.
—Betty Hallock, Los Angeles Times, 5 May 2023
Established in Boston in 2016, the restaurant is known for its high-quality oysters, lobster, caviar, tinned fish and cocktails.
—Joanne Shurvell, Forbes, 27 Mar. 2023
Then strip and tin the black and red wires. Connect the power lead Solder the red and black wires to the end of the LED strip, observing polarity.
—Bradley Ford, Popular Mechanics, 28 Feb. 2023
Noun
Conagra manufactures Armour Star Vienna sausages, which are sold for $1 for a 4.6 oz tin in Walgreens stores, for example.
—Jessica Dinapoli, The Christian Science Monitor, 9 Apr. 2024
Dave hands me a small tin filled with a fragrant salve.
—Stefanie Waldek, Travel + Leisure, 6 Apr. 2024
The major mineral components between the samples were also relatively alike, except for higher levels of lead, tin, iron, and other trace minerals found in the Shackleton whole milk powder.
—Laura Baisas, Popular Science, 28 Mar. 2024
Those who bring their empty tins back to the store get a $5 discount on refills and $2 off on tub refills.
—Brianna Taylor, Sacramento Bee, 22 Mar. 2024
Much in the way the movie shifted ticket sales into overdrive with audiences, sales of the Barbie car popcorn tin drove up profits for AMC's collectible sales.
—Tim Lammers, Forbes, 1 Mar. 2024
An officer took pity, though, and escorted him to the luggage hold — a tin shed with a dirt floor.
—Grayson Haver Currin, New York Times, 27 Mar. 2024
As the conservator announced in a Facebook post, the artifact is about an inch (2.8 centimeters) wide, 0.04 inches (about a millimeter) thick and made of lead and tin alloy.
—Sonja Anderson, Smithsonian Magazine, 21 Mar. 2024
Earlier this month, the manufacturer of Walmart’s Great Value Honey Roasted Cashews recalled the product due to unlabeled allergens after some tins were found to contain coconut and milk.
—Caroline Petrow-Cohen, Los Angeles Times, 19 Mar. 2024
Verb
Briny tinned fish and salted butter are served as accoutrements for crackers and fresh bread.
—Detroit Free Press, 6 Mar. 2024
Add remaining ingredients to tin, shake and fine strain into coupe glass.
—Jillian Dara, Forbes, 27 Feb. 2024
Hearts of palm—those tinned, briny, squeaky stalks from the pickle aisle—made their way into innumerable pasta, salad, and dip recipes of the late ’90s and early aughts.
—Antara Sinha, Bon Appétit, 28 Aug. 2023
To be in on the food scene is to be a part of a cool-kids club—dirty martini in one hand and tinned fish in the other.
—Kris Martins, Glamour, 10 Aug. 2023
The store’s shelves are stocked with sausages, many-layered honey cake, tinned sprats from Latvia, and other Eastern European goods.
—Globe Staff, BostonGlobe.com, 11 July 2023
Everything was raw or pickled or tinned, set out family-style in the middle of the table.
—Betty Hallock, Los Angeles Times, 5 May 2023
Established in Boston in 2016, the restaurant is known for its high-quality oysters, lobster, caviar, tinned fish and cocktails.
—Joanne Shurvell, Forbes, 27 Mar. 2023
Then strip and tin the black and red wires. Connect the power lead Solder the red and black wires to the end of the LED strip, observing polarity.
—Bradley Ford, Popular Mechanics, 28 Feb. 2023
These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'tin.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.
Dictionary Entries Near tin
Cite this Entry
“Tin.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/tin. Accessed 19 Apr. 2024.
Copy CitationKids Definition
tin
2 of 2 verb
tinned; tinning
1
: to cover or plate with tin or a mixture of tin with another metal
2
: to put up or pack in tins : can
Medical Definition
tin
noun
: a soft faintly bluish white lustrous low-melting crystalline metallic element that is malleable and ductile at ordinary temperatures and that is used as a protective coating, in tinfoil, and in soft solders and alloys
—symbol Sn
see Chemical Elements Table
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