LEAN
thin, lean
(adjective) lacking excess flesh; “you can’t be too rich or too thin”; “Yon Cassius has a lean and hungry look”-Shakespeare
lean
(adjective) not profitable or prosperous; “a lean year”
lean
(adjective) lacking in mineral content or combustible material; “lean ore”; “lean fuel”
lean, skimpy
(adjective) containing little excess; “a lean budget”; “a skimpy allowance”
tilt, list, inclination, lean, leaning
(noun) 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”
lean
(verb) cause to lean or incline; “He leaned his rifle against the wall”
lean, tilt, tip, slant, angle
(verb) to incline or bend from a vertical position; “She leaned over the banister”
list, lean
(verb) cause to lean to the side; “Erosion listed the old tree”
tend, be given, lean, incline, run
(verb) 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”
Source: WordNet® 3.1
Etymology 1
Verb
lean (third-person singular simple present leans, present participle leaning, simple past and past participle (UK) leant or leaned)
To incline, deviate, or bend, from a vertical position; to be in a position thus inclining or deviating.
To incline in opinion or desire; to conform in conduct; with to, toward, etc.
Followed by against, on, or upon: to rest or rely, for support, comfort, etc.
To hang outwards.
To press against.
Noun
lean (plural leans)
(of an object taller than its width and depth) An inclination away from the vertical.
Synonyms
• (inclination away from vertical): tilt
Etymology 2
Adjective
lean (comparative leaner, superlative leanest)
(of a person or animal) Slim; not fleshy.
Synonyms: lithe, svelte, willowy, Thesaurus:slender
(of meat) Having little fat.
Having little extra or little to spare; scanty; meagre.
Synonyms: insufficient, scarce, sparse, Thesaurus:inadequate
Having a low proportion or concentration of a desired substance or ingredient.
Synonyms: deficient, dilute, poor
Antonym: rich
(printing, archaic) Of a character which prevents the compositor from earning the usual wages; opposed to fat.
(business) Efficient, economic, frugal, agile, slimmed-down; pertaining to the modern industrial principles of "lean manufacturing"
Noun
lean (countable and uncountable, plural leans)
(uncountable) Meat with no fat on it.
(countable, biology) An organism that is lean in stature.
Verb
lean (third-person singular simple present leans, present participle leaning, simple past and past participle leaned)
To thin out (a fuel-air mixture): to reduce the fuel flow into the mixture so that there is more air or oxygen.
Etymology 3
Verb
lean (third-person singular simple present leans, present participle leaning, simple past and past participle leaned)
To conceal.
Etymology 4
Probably from the verb to lean (see etymology 1 above), supposedly because consumption of the intoxicating beverage causes one to "lean".
Noun
lean (uncountable)
(slang, US) A recreational drug based on codeine-laced promethazine cough syrup, popular in the hip hop community in the southeastern United States.
Synonyms: sizzurp, syrup, purple drank
Anagrams
• Alne, ELAN, Lane, Lena, Nale, Neal, elan, enal, lane, nale, neal, Ă©lan
Proper noun
Lean
A surname.
Anagrams
• Alne, ELAN, Lane, Lena, Nale, Neal, elan, enal, lane, nale, neal, Ă©lan
Source: Wiktionary
Lean, v. t. Etym: [Icel. leyna; akin to G. läugnen to deny, AS. l,
also E. lie to speak falsely.]
Definition: To conceal. [Obs.] Ray.
Lean, v. i. [imp. & p. p. Leaned, sometimes Leant (p. pr. & vb. n.
Leaning.] Etym: [OE. lenen, AS. hlinian, hleonian, v. i.; akin to OS.
hlinon, D. leunen, OHG. hlinen, linen, G. lehnen, L. inclinare, Gr.
clivus hill, slope. sq. root40. 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.
Lean, v. t. Etym: [From Lean, v. i. ; AS. hl, v. t., fr. hleonian,
hlinian, v. i.]
Definition: To cause to lean; to incline; to support or rest. Mrs.
Browning.
His fainting limbs against an oak he leant. Dryden.
Lean, a. [Compar. Leaner; superl. Leanest.] Etym: [OE. lene, AS. hl;
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.)
Definition: 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.
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.)
Definition: Unremunerative copy or work.
Source: Webster’s Unabridged Dictionary 1913 Edition