fin
1a membranous, winglike or paddlelike organ attached to any of various parts of the body of fishes and certain other aquatic animals, used for propulsion, steering, or balancing.
Nautical.
a horizontal, often adjustable, winglike appendage to the underwater portion of a hull, as one for controlling the dive of a submarine or for damping the roll of a surface vessel.
Also called vertical stabilizer .Aeronautics. any of certain small, subsidiary structures on an aircraft, designed to increase directional stability.
any of a number of standing ridges on an ordinarily hot object, as a radiator, a cylinder of an internal-combustion engine, etc., intended to maximize heat transfer to the surrounding air by exposing a large surface area.
any part, as of a mechanism, resembling a fin.
Metallurgy. a ridge of metal squeezed through the opening between two rolls, dies, or halves of a mold in which a piece is being formed under pressure.: Compare flash (def. 11).
Automotive. an ornamental structure resembling an aeronautical fin that is attached to the body of an automobile, as on each rear fender (tail fin ).
Slang. the arm or hand.
Usually fins. flipper (def. 2).
to cut off the fins from (a fish); carve or cut up, as a chub.
to provide or equip with a fin or fins.
to move the fins; lash the water with the fins, as a whale when dying.
Origin of fin
1Other words from fin
- finless, adjective
- finlike, adjective
Words Nearby fin
Other definitions for fin (2 of 4)
Slang. a five-dollar bill.
Origin of fin
2Other definitions for fin. (3 of 4)
finance.
financial.
finish.
Other definitions for Fin. (4 of 4)
Finland.
Finnish.
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2024
How to use fin in a sentence
It has silvery blue skin and a red dorsal fin that runs the length of its body.
Fishy Mystery: Are Beached Oarfish Trying to Tell Us Something? | Kevin Bailey | October 23, 2013 | THE DAILY BEAST“The annoying thing about life is that it screws up the production,” fin muses.
He carried with him the insecurities, foibles, and morose visions of fin de siècle Europe.
“Beside me the young Brit was snoring softly now, his glasses askew on his fin-shaped nose,” Obama wrote.
They looked up from their cucumber sandwiches and saw, 25 yards off, an enormous fin slicing the water.
Remembering the Man Who Brought Jaws—and Me—to the Shelves | Christopher Buckley | December 23, 2008 | THE DAILY BEAST
Mais on peut bien appeller vn voyage heureux, quand en fin on arrive bon port.
En fin il parvint Dieppe, & apres quelque sejour il se mit en mer le 26.
Bref ilz remboursent lesditz Marchs de chac deux milles livres, 176 & se mettent en fin la voile le 26.
They're like whisky, gran' at the time, but you sing sorry next day, an' fin' oot what a fool you hae been.
The Underworld | James C. WelshThen spake the Earl to that man whose name 118 some say was fin, but as others have it was of Finnish kith and kin.
The Sagas of Olaf Tryggvason and of Harald The Tyrant (Harald Haardraade) | Snorri Sturluson
British Dictionary definitions for fin (1 of 5)
/ (fɪn) /
any of the firm appendages that are the organs of locomotion and balance in fishes and some other aquatic animals. Most fishes have paired and unpaired fins, the former corresponding to the limbs of higher vertebrates
a part or appendage that resembles a fin
British a vertical surface to which the rudder is attached, usually placed at the rear of an aeroplane to give stability about the vertical axis: US name: vertical stabilizer
a tail surface fixed to a rocket or missile to give stability
nautical a fixed or adjustable blade projecting under water from the hull of a vessel to give it stability or control
a projecting rib to dissipate heat from the surface of an engine cylinder, motor casing, or radiator
(often plural) another name for flipper (def. 2)
(tr) to provide with fins
(tr) to remove the fins from (a dead fish)
(intr) (esp of a whale) to agitate the fins violently in the water
Origin of fin
1Derived forms of fin
- finless, adjective
British Dictionary definitions for fin (2 of 5)
/ (fɪn) /
US slang a five-dollar bill
Origin of fin
2British Dictionary definitions for Fin (3 of 5)
Finland
Finnish
British Dictionary definitions for FIN (4 of 5)
Finland (international car registration)
British Dictionary definitions for fin. (5 of 5)
finance
financial
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012
Scientific definitions for fin
[ fĭn ]
One of the winglike or paddlelike parts of a fish, dolphin, or whale that are used for propelling, steering, and balancing in water.
The American Heritage® Science Dictionary Copyright © 2011. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.
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