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Lean definitions

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Webster's 1828 Dictionary

LEAN, v.i. [Gr., L. clino.]
1. To deviate or move from a straight or perpendicular line; or to be in a position thus deviating. We say, a column leans to the north or to the east; it leans to the right or left.
2. To incline or propend; to tend toward.
They delight rather to lean to their old customs -
3. To bend or incline so as to rest on something; as, to lean against a wall or a pillar; to lean on the arm of another.
4. To bend; to be in a bending posture.
LEAN, v.t.
1. To incline; to cause to lean.
2. To conceal. [Not in use.]
LEAN, a. [L. lenis, and Eng. slender.]
1. Wanting flesh; meager; not fat; as a lean body; a lean man or animal.
2. Not rich; destitute of good qualities; bare; barren; as lean earth.
3. Low; poor; in opposition to rich or great; as a lean action. [Unusual.]
4. Barren of thought; destitute of that which improves or entertains; jejune; as a lean discourse or dissertation.
LEAN, n. That part of flesh which consists of muscle without the fat.

WordNet (r) 3.0 (2005)

adj
1: lacking excess flesh; "you can't be too rich or too thin"; "Yon Cassius has a lean and hungry look"-Shakespeare [syn: thin, lean] [ant: fat]
2: lacking in mineral content or combustible material; "lean ore"; "lean fuel" [ant: rich]
3: containing little excess; "a lean budget"; "a skimpy allowance" [syn: lean, skimpy]
4: not profitable or prosperous; "a lean year" n
1: the property possessed by a line or surface that departs from the vertical; "the tower had a pronounced tilt"; "the ship developed a list to starboard"; "he walked with a heavy inclination to the right" [syn: tilt, list, inclination, lean, leaning] v
1: to incline or bend from a vertical position; "She leaned over the banister" [syn: lean, tilt, tip, slant, angle]
2: cause to lean or incline; "He leaned his rifle against the wall"
3: have a tendency or disposition to do or be something; be inclined; "She tends to be nervous before her lectures"; "These dresses run small"; "He inclined to corpulence" [syn: tend, be given, lean, incline, run]
4: rely on for support; "We can lean on this man"
5: cause to lean to the side; "Erosion listed the old tree" [syn: list, lean]

Merriam Webster's

biographical name Sir David 1908-1991 British film director

Merriam Webster's

I. verb (leaned; leaning) Etymology: Middle English lenen, from Old English hleonian; akin to Old High German hlin?n to lean, Greek klinein, Latin clinare Date: before 12th century intransitive verb 1. a. to incline, deviate, or bend from a vertical position b. to cast one's weight to one side for support 2. to rely for support or inspiration 3. to incline in opinion, taste, or desire <leaning toward a career in chemistry> transitive verb to cause to lean ; incline II. noun Date: 1776 the act or an instance of leaning ; inclination III. adjective Etymology: Middle English lene, from Old English hl?ne Date: before 12th century 1. a. lacking or deficient in flesh b. containing little or no fat <lean meat> 2. lacking richness, sufficiency, or productiveness <lean profits> <the lean years> 3. deficient in an essential or important quality or ingredient: as a. of ore containing little valuable mineral b. low in combustible component — used especially of fuel mixtures 4. characterized by economy (as of style, expression, or operation) • leanly adverb • leanness noun Synonyms: lean, spare, lank, lanky, gaunt, rawboned, scrawny, skinny mean thin because of an absence of excess flesh. lean stresses lack of fat and of curving contours <a lean racehorse>. spare suggests leanness from abstemious living or constant exercise <the gymnast's spare figure>. lank implies tallness as well as leanness <the lank legs of the heron>. lanky suggests awkwardness and loose-jointedness as well as thinness <a lanky youth, all arms and legs>. gaunt implies marked thinness or emaciation as from overwork or suffering <a prisoner's gaunt face>. rawboned suggests a large ungainly build without implying undernourishment <a rawboned farmer>. scrawny and skinny imply an extreme leanness that suggests deficient strength and vitality <a scrawny chicken> <skinny street urchins>. IV. transitive verb Date: before 12th century to make lean V. noun Date: 15th century the part of meat that consists principally of lean muscle

Oxford Reference Dictionary

1. v. & n. --v. (past and past part. leaned or leant) 1 intr. & tr. (often foll. by across, back, over, etc.) be or place in a sloping position; incline from the perpendicular. 2 intr. & tr. (foll. by against, on, upon) rest or cause to rest for support against etc. 3 intr. (foll. by on, upon) rely on; derive support from. 4 intr. (foll. by to, towards) be inclined or partial to; have a tendency towards. --n. a deviation from the perpendicular; an inclination (has a decided lean to the right). Phrases and idioms: lean on colloq. put pressure on (a person) to act in a certain way. lean over backwards see BACKWARDS. lean-to (pl. -tos) a building with its roof leaning against a larger building or a wall. Etymology: OE hleonian, hlinian f. Gmc 2. adj. & n. --adj. 1 (of a person or animal) thin; having no superfluous fat. 2 (of meat) containing little fat. 3 a meagre; of poor quality (lean crop). b not nourishing (lean diet). 4 unremunerative. --n. the lean part of meat. Phrases and idioms: lean years years of scarcity. Derivatives: leanly adv. leanness n. Etymology: OE hlæne f. Gmc

Webster's 1913 Dictionary

Lean Lean (l[=e]n), a. [Compar. Leaner (l[=e]n"[~e]r); superl. Leanest.] [OE. lene, AS. hl[=ae]ne; prob. akin to E. lean to incline. See Lean, v. i. ] 1. Wanting flesh; destitute of or deficient in fat; not plump; meager; thin; lank; as, a lean body; a lean cattle. 2. Wanting fullness, richness, sufficiency, or productiveness; deficient in quality or contents; slender; scant; barren; bare; mean; -- used literally and figuratively; as, the lean harvest; a lean purse; a lean discourse; lean wages. ``No lean wardrobe.'' --Shak. Their lean and fiashy songs. --Milton. What the land is, whether it be fat or lean. --Num. xiii. 20. Out of my lean and low ability I'll lend you something. --Shak. 3. (Typog.) Of a character which prevents the compositor from earning the usual wages; -- opposed to fat; as, lean copy, matter, or type. Syn: slender; spare; thin; meager; lank; skinny; gaunt.

Webster's 1913 Dictionary

Lean Lean (l[=e]n), v. t. [Icel. leyna; akin to G. l["a]ugnen to deny, AS. l[=y]gnian, also E. lie to speak falsely.] To conceal. [Obs.] --Ray.

Webster's 1913 Dictionary

Lean Lean (l[=e]n), v. i. [imp. & p. p. Leaned (l[=e]nd), sometimes Leant (l[e^]nt); p. pr. & vb. n. Leaning.] [OE. lenen, AS. hlinian, hleonian, v. i.; akin to OS. hlin[=o]n, D. leunen, OHG. hlin[=e]n, lin[=e]n, G. lehnen, L. inclinare, Gr. kli`nein, L. clivus hill, slope. [root]40. Cf. Declivity, Climax, Incline, Ladder.] 1. To incline, deviate, or bend, from a vertical position; to be in a position thus inclining or deviating; as, she leaned out at the window; a leaning column. ``He leant forward.'' --Dickens. 2. To incline in opinion or desire; to conform in conduct; -- with to, toward, etc. They delight rather to lean to their old customs. --Spenser. 3. To rest or rely, for support, comfort, and the like; -- with on, upon, or against. He leaned not on his fathers but himself. --Tennyson.

Webster's 1913 Dictionary

Lean Lean, n. 1. That part of flesh which consist principally of muscle without the fat. The fat was so white and the lean was so ruddy. --Goldsmith. 2. (Typog.) Unremunerative copy or work.

Webster's 1913 Dictionary

Lean Lean, v. t. [From Lean, v. i.; AS. hl[=ae]nan, v. t., fr. hleonian, hlinian, v. i.] To cause to lean; to incline; to support or rest. --Mrs. Browning. His fainting limbs against an oak he leant. --Dryden.

Collin's Cobuild Dictionary

(leans, leaning, leaned, leant, leaner, leanest) Frequency: The word is one of the 3000 most common words in English. Note: American English uses the form 'leaned' as the past tense and past participle. British English uses either 'leaned' or 'leant'. 1. When you lean in a particular direction, you bend your body in that direction. Eileen leaned across and opened the passenger door... They stopped to lean over a gate. VERB: V adv/prep, V adv/prep 2. If you lean on or against someone or something, you rest against them so that they partly support your weight. If you lean an object on or against something, you place the object so that it is partly supported by that thing. She was feeling tired and was glad to lean against him... Lean the plants against a wall and cover the roots with peat... VERB: V adv, V n adv/prep 3. If you describe someone as lean, you mean that they are thin but look strong and healthy. Like most athletes, she was lean and muscular... She watched the tall, lean figure step into the car. ADJ [approval] 4. If meat is lean, it does not have very much fat. It is a beautiful meat, very lean and tender. ? fatty ADJ 5. If you describe an organization as lean, you mean that it has become more efficient and less wasteful by getting rid of staff, or by dropping projects which were unprofitable. The value of the pound will force British companies to be leaner and fitter. ADJ 6. If you describe periods of time as lean, you mean that people have less of something such as money or are less successful than they used to be. ...the lean years of the 1930s... With fewer tourists in town, the taxi trade is going through its leanest patch for 30 years. ADJ: usu ADJ n

Soule's Dictionary of English Synonyms

I. v. n. 1. Incline (from a perpendicular), slope. 2. Recline, bear, rest, repose. 3. Tend, have a tendency. 4. Repose, rely, depend, confide, trust. II. v. a. Rest, incline for support, lay. III. a. 1. Thin, poor, gaunt, emaciated, meagre, lank, skinny, fallen away. 2. Barren, jejune, meagre, tame, prosy, dull. 3. Scanty, slender, pitiful, inadequate, not full or abundant, not plentiful, not ample, not enough. 4. Free from fat, destitute of fat. 5. Barren, bare, unfertile, unproductive.

Moby Thesaurus

Lenten, Spartan, abstemious, acquiesce, agree, angular, angularity, arid, ascend, ascetic, austere, bad, bald, bank, bare, barren, be agreeable to, be dying to, be eager, be game, be open to, be ready, be spoiling for, be willing, believe in, bend, bend to, bias, bony, candid, cant, careen, climb, collaborate, common, commonplace, conduce, consent, contribute, cooperate, count on, cow, curve, decline, deflect, depend on, descend, destitute, difficult, dip, direct, dispose, divert, drop, dry, dull, dwarfed, dwarfish, emaciated, endanger, exiguous, fall, fall away, fall off, favor, flat, flat-chested, fleshless, frank, frighten, frugal, gangling, gangly, gaunt, gawky, go, go along with, go downhill, go uphill, grade, gradient, gravitate, haggard, hard, have a tendency, head, heel, homely, homespun, imperil, impoverished, inclination, incline, indigent, infertile, intimidate, jejune, keel, lank, lanky, lead, lean on, lean towards, lean-fleshed, lean-looking, leaning, leaning tower, limited, list, look, look kindly upon, look to, matter-of-fact, meager, mean, menace, miserly, narrow, natural, neat, necessitous, needy, niggardly, not hesitate to, open, paltry, parsimonious, penurious, pinched, pitch, plain, plain-speaking, plain-spoken, plunge, plunge into, point, point to, poor, poverty-stricken, precipitate, prefer, pressure, prosaic, prosing, prosy, puny, pure, rake, rangy, rawboned, recline, redound to, rely on, retreat, rightful, rise, rustic, scant, scanty, scare, scraggy, scrawny, scrimp, scrimpy, serve, set, set toward, settle, severe, sheer, shelve, show a tendency, shrunken, sidle, simple, simple-speaking, sink, skeletal, skimp, skimpy, skinny, slant, slender, slight, slim, slope, small, sober, spare, sparing, sparse, spidery, spindling, spindly, stark, starvation, stingy, stinted, straightforward, straitened, stunted, subside, subsistence, swag, sway, tend, tend to go, terrify, terrorize, thin, thin-bellied, thin-fleshed, threaten, tilt, tip, tower of Pisa, trend, trust in, turn, twiggy, unadorned, unaffected, undersized, underweight, unfruitful, unimaginative, unnourishing, unnutritious, unpoetical, unproductive, unvarnished, uprise, verge, warn, warp, wasted, watered, watery, wiry, work toward, would as leave, would as lief