Containing little excess or waste; spare: a lean budget.
Thrifty in management; economical: "Company leaders know their industries must be lean to survive"(Christian Science Monitor).
Metallurgy Low in mineral contents: lean ore.
Chemistry Lacking in combustible material: lean fuel.
n.
Meat with little or no fat.
[Middle English lene, from Old English hlǣne.]
lean'ly adv., lean'ness n.
Synonyms: These adjectives mean lacking excess flesh. Lean emphasizes absence of fat: fattened the lean cattle for market. Spare sometimes suggests trimness and good muscle tone: "an old man, very tall and spare, with an ascetic aspect" (William H. Mallock).
Skinny and scrawny imply unattractive thinness, as with undernourishment: The child has skinny legs with prominent knees."He [had] a long, scrawny neck that rose out of a very low collar" (Winston Churchill).
Lank describes one who is thin and tall, and lanky one who is thin, tall, and ungraceful: "He was . . . exceedingly lank, with narrow shoulders" (Washington Irving). The boy had developed into a lanky adolescent. Rawboned suggests a thin, bony, gangling build: a rawboned cowhand. Gaunt implies boniness and a haggard appearance; it may suggest illness or hardship: a white-haired pioneer, her face gaunt from overwork.
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Audio Help [leen] Pronunciation Key adjective, -er, -est, noun 
