chin

plural chins

1. The bottom of a face, (specifically) the typically jutting jawline below the mouth.

   What does it mean to have a pointy chin instead of a flat chin?

   Synonyms: mentum

2. USslangTalk.
3. UKslangA lie, a falsehood.
4. UKslangA person of the upper class.
5. uncountableboxingThe ability to withstand being punched in the chin without being knocked out.

   Antonyms: glass chin, glass jaw

6. aeronauticsThe lower part of the front of an aircraft, below the nose.

   To paint chins of aircraft

   2 more examples

   In the cleft of the aircraft's chin is a small turret for a forward-looking infrared (FLIR) "eyeball" that will enable MH-47E pilots to see clearly in complete darkness […]

   1990, Army, volume 40

   Lockheed Martin's system is mounted behind a transparent, low-observable window blended into the aircraft's chin.

   2001, Aviation Week & Space Technology

7. The bottom part of a mobile phone, below the screen.

   The phone's chin looks different from the rest of it.

present singular third person chins · participle present chinning · participle past chinned · past chinned

1. datedintransitiveslangTo talk.

   “I reckon you can explain, Mrs. Peabody.” […] “An’ I reckon that newcomer you’ve been chinning with could explain if he had a mind to.”

   1912, Jack London, chapter 5, in Smoke Bellew, New York: Grosset & Dunlap, page 141

   1 more example

   This little chore involved getting up at 3 A.M., working about two hours, then sitting around chinning and drinking coffee with the radio operators until too late to go back to sleep.

   1944, Ernie Pyle, chapter 1, in Brave Men, New York: Henry Holt, page 3

   Synonyms: gab

2. datedslangtransitiveTo talk to or with (someone).

   “Been up chinning your sporting editor, Ragsy Hurd. […]”

   1911, Henry Sydnor Harrison, chapter 7, in Queed, Boston: Houghton Mifflin, page 85

   1 more example

   “What do you suppose that Seagreave’s chinning Hughie about[?]”

   1912, Nancy Mann Waddel Woodrow, chapter 12, in The Black Pearl, New York: Appleton, page 239

3. intransitivereflexiveTo perform a chin-up (exercise in which one lifts one's own weight while hanging from a bar).

   You can grunt and curse to your heart’s content but you cannot swing your body when chinning.

   1986, Martin Cohen, The Marine Corps 3X Fitness Program, Boston: Little, Brown, Part 3, p. 75

   3 more examples

   It is worth noting that on the eighth day he was strong enough to “chin” himself six times in succession, though previous to the fasting treatment he had never in his life been able to do this more than once or twice.

   1913, Upton Sinclair, The Fasting Cure, New York: Mitchell Kennerley, page 34

   A description of the cour would be incomplete without an enumeration of the manifold duties of the planton in charge, which were as follows: to prevent the men from using the horizontal bar, except for chinning, since if you swung yourself upon it you could look over the wall into the women’s cour […]

   1922, E. E. Cummings, chapter 4, in The Enormous Room, New York: Modern Library, published 1949, page 80

   The Englishmen had also been lifting weights and chinning themselves for years. Their bellies were like washboards. The muscles of their calves and upper arms were like cannonballs.

   1969, Kurt Vonnegut, chapter 5, in Slaughterhouse-Five, New York: Dial, published 2005, page 119

4. UKtransitiveTo punch or hit (someone), especially on the chin (part of the body).

   ‘I’m in trouble, I hit a policeman—chinned him. He was messin’ me about, pushin’ me around on the pavement, so I chinned him, didn’t I? […]’

   1966, Nell Dunn, “OUT with the Boys”, in Up the Junction, Philadelphia: Lippincott, page 88

   1 more example

   He told me once that he used to be scared to death every time he started in a hard game for fear he’d get badly injured. Said it wasn’t until someone had jabbed him in the nose or ‘chinned’ him that he forgot to be scared.

   1915, Ralph Henry Barbour, chapter 14, in Left Tackle Thayer, New York: Dodd, Mead, pages 183–184

5. transitiveTo put or hold (a musical instrument) up to one's chin.

   Jimmy sat down at the piano, and the scientist tuned, then chinned the violin.

   1951, Gene Fowler, chapter 16, in Schnozzola: The Story of Jimmy Durante, New York: Viking, page 173

   2 more examples

   Conspicuous in the front rank of “the music” was Joe Lippett, chinning his fife […]

   1849 September, Alfred Billings Street, “General Training”, in Graham’s American Monthly Magazine of Literature and Art, volume 35, number 3, page 137

   A comical fellow hopped down from a stump and chinned his fiddle while Prince Chang stared.

   1925, Arthur Bowie Chrisman, “Four Generals”, in Shen of the Sea: Chinese Stories for Children, New York: E.P. Dutton, published 1968, page 82

6. transitiveTo turn on or operate (a device) using one's chin; to select (a particular setting) using one's chin.

   I was too tired to argue; I chinned the valve three or four times, felt a blast blistering my face.

   1958, Robert Heinlein, chapter 8, in Have Space Suit—Will Travel, New York: Del Rey, page 160

   1 more example

   I landed kind of sloppily on hands and knees and chinned the squad frequency. “First squad sound off!”

   1985, Joe Haldeman, “You Can Never Go Back”, in Dealing in Futures, New York: Viking, page 154

7. transitiveTo put one's chin on (something).

   […] she elbowed the table and chinned her hand.

   1977, Ian Wallace, chapter 26, in The Sign of the Mute Medusa, New York: Popular Library, page 243

   1 more example

   He chinned the alley fence and looked both ways along it.

   1994, Garry Disher, chapter 7, in Crosskill, St Leonards, NSW: Allen & Unwin, page 35

8. transitiveTo indicate or point toward (someone or something) with one's chin.

   But you don’t love him, said Madame Sonia with understanding. Do you love this one? Madame Sonia chinned the American.

   2004, Han Ong, The Disinherited, New York: Farrar, Straus and Giroux, Part 4, Chapter 4, p. 239

   1 more example

   A wry laugh bubbled up Carmen's throat as she turned to Blanca. "You brought us here to read?" "Try," Blanca said, chinning at the tome. […] Carmen glanced up between them and then chinned at the bathroom.

   2025 August 12, Hailey Piper, A Game in Yellow, Simon and Schuster, →ISBN, page 28,61

plural chins

1. informalA chinchilla.

1. A hamlet in Alberta, Canada.

1. alternativeobsoleteAlternative form of China.

1. A surname from Chinese.

   1 more example

   Cheng [translating 鄭 /郑 (Zhèng)] is expected to arrive in the U.S. capital on the evening of June 9 and remain there through June 12, according to the KMT's representative to the U.S., Victor Chin (秦日新). During her stay in Washington, Cheng will meet members of Congress from both the Republican and Democratic parties and participate in closed-door discussions at three major think tanks, including the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS), Chin told CNA.

   2026 May 31, Elaine Hou, Evelyn Kao, “KMT head to discuss cross-strait stability in Washington”, in Focus Taiwan, sourced from Washington/Taipei, May 31 (CNA), archived from the original on 01 Jun 2026, Politics

1. alternativeobsoleteAlternative form of Jin: an ancient Chinese state and various medieval Chinese dynasties.

   Wang Tao, the head of a great northern family, emigrated to the south and there became the chief architect of the Eastern Chin dynasty, a regime noted for excellent calligraphy.

   1979, Bradley Smith, Wan-go Weng, China: A History in Art, Doubleday & Co., →ISBN, →LCCN, →OCLC, →OL, pages 100–101

   4 more examples

   The most amazing poems in human history are the Huêi-wên-tʻü or the revolving chart, by Lady Su Huêi, of the Chin Dynasty (265-419), and the Chʻien-tzŭ-wên, or thousand-character literature, by Chou Hsing-ssŭ, (fifth century a.d.)

   1929, Witter Bynner, transl., The Jade Mountain, Alfred A. Knopf, published 1967, →OCLC, page xxxvi

   The second significant feature in the development of Chinese literature is the immense influence of Buddhist literature on the development of every sphere of Chinese literature since the East Chin Period (A.D. 317).

   1964, Lai Ming, A History of Chinese Literature, New York: John Day Company, →LCCN, →OCLC, page 3

   In the fourth year of the reign of the Emperor Hsiao Wu [r. 372-396] of the Chin Dynasty [265-420], Hsüeh Tao-hsün of An-lu County in the Chiang-hsia Commandery [in Hupeh Province] was twenty-two.

   1985, Classical Chinese Tales of the Supernatural and the Fantastic: Selections from the Third to the Tenth Century, Hong Kong: Joint Publishing, →ISBN, →LCCN, →OCLC, page 135

   When Wang, along with the then-Chin Dynasty [晉朝, during the Western Chin period, 265-317], settled in [China’s] Jiangnan region (江南), he told his children that Jiangnan was their home, that they were not refugees, but had rather relocated to the region.

   柯宗明

   2018 April 9, Ko Tsung-ming [柯宗明], quotee, “INTERVIEW: Author demystifies ‘Chen Cheng-po Code’”, in Jake Chung, Jonathan Chin, transl., Taipei Times, sourced from Liberty Times, →ISSN, →OCLC, archived from the original on 08 Apr 2018, Taiwan News, page 3

1. alternativeAlternative form of Qin: an ancient Chinese state.

   As early as the time of the "Warring Kingdoms" (fourth century B.C.), if not before, the chronicles mention nomad invasions. Under the Chin dynasty (Qin, 221-207 B.C.), a system of walls was erected in the north.

   2004, Gerard Chaliand, translated by A.M. Berrett, Nomadic Empires: From Mongolia to the Danube, Transaction Publishers, translation of original in French, →ISBN, →OCLC, page 21

   3 more examples

   The youth of China, deeply concerned with the future of their country, began to question everything and re-evaluate everything. What had been considered valuable became worthless, and what had been regarded as worthless became priceless. The more they examined, the more doubtful they became. This inquisitive approach shook the ancient political system, which had been handed down with little modification from the Chin Dynasty more than twenty centuries before. The new generation cried, "Democracy."

   1943, Kwok Ying Fung, “Out of Yesterday”, in China, New York: Henry Holt and Company, →OCLC, page 14

   Compared to the Korean excesses, the Chinese (on both sides of the Taiwan Strait) more often follow the "middle way" (中庸之道). The Chinese are more concerned about whether they will leave a bad name for posterity (like Chin Shih Huang [秦始皇] of the Chin dynasty and Chin Kuai [秦檜] of the Sung dynasty.) That is one reason why no military coup has occurred in Taiwan over the past 50 years.

   1999 December 26, Rick Chu, “Soong [translating 宋 (Sòng)] has no historical responsibility”, in Taipei Times, →ISSN, →OCLC, archived from the original on 22 Apr 2025, Editorial & Opinion, page 36

   A great unification of the Wall took place under Emperor Qin Shi Huanghi, the legendary ruthless ruler who founded the Chin Dynasty (221-206 BC) and hence gave his name to China. He also left behind his personal terracotta army of Xian, the larger-than-life clay soldiers built supposedly to guard him in the afterlife.[…] I have stood at sections where the base was built during Chin Dynasty, the middle during Han, the upper during Ming, the watchtowers Qing (AD 1644-1911) while the surface was only one week old.

   n.d., “Great Wall of China”, in Steven A Martin, archived from the original on 05 Dec 2022

1. pluralplural onlyA tribe in Myanmar.

   Oral tradition and archaeological evidence suggest the Chin were the earliest Tibeto-Burman group to come to the Chindwin Valley, a settlement process starting as early as the 4ᵗʰ century.

   2021 December 28, Samson Alexander Lotven, “THE SOUND SYSTEMS OF ZOPHEI DIALECTS AND OTHER MARAIC LANGUAGES”, in Indiana University, archived from the original on 07 Mar 2025, page 7

1. A state of Myanmar.
2. Synonym of Zo (“a language of Myanmar”).

   Synonyms: Zo