thin as a rake

adjective

Incredibly thin; at an unhealthy-looking level of thinness.

OriginMiddle English lene as a rake →
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Meanings

adjectivethin as a rake (not comparable)
  1. not comparablesimileIncredibly thin; at an unhealthy-looking level of thinness.

Synonyms & antonyms

Also see
thin as a railthin as a wafer

Origin

  1. Middle Englishlene as a rake
  2. Englishthin as a rake

Alteration of earlier lean as a rake, from Middle English lene as a rake; the last element in is potentially an modification of either Middle English *rak (“skinny animal”) (from Old Norse hrak) or rak (“rack”) after rake (“rake”), though it might merely represent that word.

More words from Middle English

Full word history & related roots →

Translations

Finnish laiha kuin tikku, laiha kuin kukkakeppi
  • laiha kuin tikkuincredibly thin
  • laiha kuin kukkakeppiincredibly thin
French maigre comme un clou
  • maigre comme un clouincredibly thin
Italian magro come un chiodo
  • magro come un chiodoincredibly thin
Norwegian Bokmål tynn som en strek
  • tynn som en strekincredibly thin
Russian худо́й как ще́пка, то́щий как жердь
  • худо́й как ще́пка (xudój kak ščépka)incredibly thin
  • то́щий как жердь (tóščij kak žerdʹ)incredibly thin
Swedish smal som en sticka, smal som en pinne
  • smal som en stickaincredibly thin
  • smal som en pinneincredibly thin
  • trådsmalincredibly thin
Cite this entry
APA

thin as a rake. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 4, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/thin%20as%20a%20rake

MLA

“thin as a rake.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/thin%20as%20a%20rake. Accessed November 4, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “thin as a rake,” accessed November 4, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/thin%20as%20a%20rake.

Source: thin as a rake on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.