Adjacent Words

Fin definitions

	Tweet

Webster's 1828 Dictionary

FIN, n. [L. pinna or penna. The sense is probably a shoot, or it is from diminishing. See Fine.]
The fin of a fish consists of a membrane supported by rays, or little bony or cartilaginous ossicles. The fins of fish serve to keep their bodies upright, and to prevent wavering or vacillation. The fins, except the caudal, do not assist in progressive motion; the tail being the instrument of swimming.
FIN, v.t. To carve or cut up a chub.

WordNet (r) 3.0 (2005)

n
1: the cardinal number that is the sum of four and one [syn: five, 5, V, cinque, quint, quintet, fivesome, quintuplet, pentad, fin, Phoebe, Little Phoebe]
2: one of a pair of decorations projecting above the rear fenders of an automobile [syn: tail fin, tailfin, fin]
3: one of a set of parallel slats in a door or window to admit air and reject rain [syn: louver, louvre, fin]
4: a shoe for swimming; the paddle-like front is an aid in swimming (especially underwater) [syn: flipper, fin]
5: a stabilizer on a ship that resembles the fin of a fish
6: organ of locomotion and balance in fishes and some other aquatic animals v
1: equip (a car) with fins
2: propel oneself through the water in a finning motion
3: show the fins above the water while swimming; "The sharks were finning near the surface" [syn: fin, break water]

Merriam Webster's

I. noun Etymology: Middle English finn, from Old English Date: before 12th century 1. an external membranous process of an aquatic animal (as a fish) used in propelling or guiding the body — see fish illustration 2. something resembling a fin: as a. hand, arm b. (1) an appendage of a boat (as a submarine) (2) an airfoil attached to an airplane for directional stability c. flipper 1b d. any of the projecting ribs on a radiator or an engine cylinder • finlike adjective • finned adjective II. verb (finned; finning) Date: 1933 transitive verb to equip with fins intransitive verb 1. to show the fins above the water 2. to move through water propelled by fins III. noun Etymology: Yiddish finf five, from Middle High German, from Old High German — more at five Date: 1916 slang a 5-dollar bill IV. abbreviation 1. finance; financial 2. finish

Oxford Reference Dictionary

n. & v. --n. 1 an organ on various parts of the body of many aquatic vertebrates and some invertebrates, including fish and cetaceans, for propelling, steering, and balancing (dorsal fin; anal fin). 2 a small projecting surface or attachment on an aircraft, rocket, or motor car for ensuring aerodynamic stability. 3 an underwater swimmer's flipper. 4 a sharp lateral projection on the share or coulter of a plough. 5 a finlike projection on any device, for improving heat transfer etc. --v. (finned, finning) 1 tr. provide with fins. 2 intr. swim under water. Phrases and idioms: fin-back (or fin whale) a rorqual, Balaenoptera physalus. Derivatives: finless adj. finned adj. (also in comb.). Etymology: OE fin(n)

Webster's 1913 Dictionary

Fin Fin, n. (A["e]ronautics) A fixed stabilizing surface, usually vertical, similar in purpose to a bilge keel on a ship.

Webster's 1913 Dictionary

Fin Fin, v. t. [imp. & p. p. Finned; p. pr. & vb. n. Finning.] [Cf. Fin of a fish.] To carve or cut up, as a chub.

Webster's 1913 Dictionary

Fin Fin, n. [See Fine, n.] End; conclusion; object. [Obs.] ``She knew eke the fin of his intent.'' --Chaucer.

Webster's 1913 Dictionary

Fin Fin, n.[OE. finne, fin, AS. finn; akin to D. vin, G. & Dan. finne, Sw. fena, L. pinna, penna, a wing, feather. Cf. pen a feather.] 1. (Zo["o]l.) An organ of a fish, consisting of a membrane supported by rays, or little bony or cartilaginous ossicles, and serving to balance and propel it in the water. Note: Fishes move through the water chiefly by means of the caudal fin or tail, the principal office of the other fins being to balance or direct the body, though they are also, to a certain extent, employed in producing motion. 2. (Zo["o]l.) A membranous, finlike, swimming organ, as in pteropod and heteropod mollusks. 3. A finlike organ or attachment; a part of an object or product which protrudes like a fin, as: (a) The hand. [Slang] (b) (Com.) A blade of whalebone. [Eng.] --McElrath. (c) (Mech.) A mark or ridge left on a casting at the junction of the parts of a mold. (d) (Mech.) The thin sheet of metal squeezed out between the collars of the rolls in the process of rolling. --Raymond. (e) (Mech.) A feather; a spline. 4. A finlike appendage, as to submarine boats. Apidose fin. (Zo["o]l.) See under Adipose, a. Fin ray (Anat.), one of the hornlike, cartilaginous, or bony, dermal rods which form the skeleton of the fins of fishes. Fin whale (Zo["o]l.), a finback. Paired fins (Zo["o]l.), the pectoral and ventral fins, corresponding to the fore and hind legs of the higher animals. Unpaired, or Median, fins (Zo["o]l.), the dorsal, caudal, and anal fins.

Collin's Cobuild Dictionary

(fins) 1. A fish's fins are the flat objects which stick out of its body and help it to swim and keep its balance. N-COUNT 2. A fin on something such as an aeroplane, rocket, or bomb is a flat part which sticks out and which is intended to help control its movement. N-COUNT

International Standard Bible Encyclopedia

See FISH.

1811 Dictionary of the Vulgar Tongue

An arm. A one finned fellow; a man who has lost an arm. SEA PHRASE.

Moby Thesaurus

Australian crawl, C, C-note, G, G-note, Little Phoebe, Pentateuch, Phoebe, V, aquaplaning, aquatics, backstroke, balneation, bathe, bathing, breaststroke, buck, butterfly, cartwheel, cent, century, cinque, copper, crawl, dime, diving, dog paddle, dollar, dollar bill, fifty cents, fish, fishtail, five, five bucks, five cents, five dollars, five hundred dollars, five-dollar bill, five-hundred-dollar bill, five-spot, fiver, fivesome, flapper, flipper, floating, four bits, frogskin, grand, half G, half a C, half dollar, half grand, hundred-dollar bill, iron man, mill, mullet, natation, nickel, penny, pentachord, pentad, pentagon, pentagram, pentahedron, pentameter, pentapody, pentarchy, pentastich, pentathlon, quarter, quincunx, quint, quintet, quintuplet, red cent, sawbuck, sidestroke, silver dollar, skin, smacker, surfboarding, surfing, swim, swimming, ten cents, ten-spot, tenner, thousand dollars, thousand-dollar bill, treading water, twenty-dollar bill, twenty-five cents, two bits, two-dollar bill, two-spot, wading, waterskiing, yard