lean
(redirected from leaned)Also found in: Thesaurus, Medical, Idioms, Encyclopedia.
Related to leaned: leaned against
lean
to incline: lean on me; thin, skinny, lank, lanky; sparse; economical
Not to be confused with:
lien – legal claim
Abused, Confused, & Misused Words by Mary Embree Copyright © 2007, 2013 by Mary Embree
lean 1
(lēn)v. leaned, lean·ing, leans
v.intr.
1. To bend or slant away from the vertical.
2. To incline the weight of the body so as to be supported: leaning against the doorpost. See Synonyms at slant.
3. To rely for assistance or support: Lean on me for help.
4. To have a tendency or preference: a government that leans toward fascism.
5. Informal To exert pressure: The boss is leaning on us to meet the deadline.
v.tr.
1. To set or place so as to be resting or supported: leaned the ladder against the wall.
2. To cause to incline: leaned the boards so the rain would run off.
n.
A tilt or an inclination away from the vertical.
lean 2
(lēn)adj. lean·er, lean·est
1.
a. Not fleshy or fat; thin.
b. Containing little fat or less fat relative to a standard: lean hamburger.
2.
a. Not productive or prosperous; meager: lean years.
b. Containing little excess or waste; spare: a lean budget.
c. Thrifty in management, especially by employing just enough people to accomplish a task or do business: "Company leaders know their industries must be lean to survive" (Christian Science Monitor).
3.
a. Metallurgy Low in mineral contents: lean ore.
b. 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: lean2, skinny, scrawny, lank, lanky, gaunt
These adjectives mean lacking excess flesh. Lean emphasizes absence of fat but usually suggests good health: The farmer fattened the lean cattle for market. Skinny and scrawny imply unattractive thinness, as from undernourishment: "His face and belly were so round, and his arms so skinny, that he looked like a dough ball with four sticks stuck into it" (John Green)."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. Gaunt implies boniness and a haggard appearance; it may suggest illness or hardship: a white-haired pioneer, her face gaunt from overwork.
These adjectives mean lacking excess flesh. Lean emphasizes absence of fat but usually suggests good health: The farmer fattened the lean cattle for market. Skinny and scrawny imply unattractive thinness, as from undernourishment: "His face and belly were so round, and his arms so skinny, that he looked like a dough ball with four sticks stuck into it" (John Green)."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. Gaunt implies boniness and a haggard appearance; it may suggest illness or hardship: a white-haired pioneer, her face gaunt from overwork.
American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright © 2016 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.
lean
(liːn)vb, leans, leaning, leaned or leant
1. (foll by: against, on, or upon) to rest or cause to rest against a support
2. to incline or cause to incline from a vertical position
3. (intr; foll by to or towards) to have or express a tendency or leaning
4. lean over backwards informal to make a special effort, esp in order to please
n
the condition of inclining from a vertical position
[Old English hleonian, hlinian; related to Old High German hlinēn, Latin clīnāre to incline]
lean
(liːn)adj
1. (esp of a person or an animal) having no surplus flesh or bulk; not fat or plump
2. not bulky or full
3. (of meat) having little or no fat
4. not rich, abundant, or satisfying
5. (Automotive Engineering) (of a mixture of fuel and air) containing insufficient fuel and too much air: a lean mixture.
6. (Printing, Lithography & Bookbinding) (of printer's type) having a thin appearance
7. (of a paint) containing relatively little oil
8. (Mining & Quarrying) (of an ore) not having a high mineral content
9. (Civil Engineering) (of concrete) made with a small amount of cement
n
(Cookery) the part of meat that contains little or no fat
[Old English hlǣne, of Germanic origin]
ˈleanly adv
ˈleanness n
Lean
(liːn)n
(Biography) Sir David. 1908–91, English film director. His films include In Which We Serve (1942), Blithe Spirit (1945), Brief Encounter (1946), Great Expectations (1946), Oliver Twist (1948), The Bridge on the River Kwai (1957), Lawrence of Arabia (1962), Dr Zhivago (1965), and A Passage to India (1984)
Collins English Dictionary – Complete and Unabridged, 12th Edition 2014 © HarperCollins Publishers 1991, 1994, 1998, 2000, 2003, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2011, 2014
lean1
(lin)v. leaned (esp. Brit.) leant, lean•ing, v.i.
1. to incline or bend from a vertical position: to lean out the window.
2. to incline, as in a particular direction; slant: The post leans to the left.
3. to incline in feeling, opinion, action, etc.: to lean toward socialism.
4. to rest or lie for support: to lean against a wall.
5. to depend or rely (usu. fol. by on or upon): someone to lean on in an emergency.
v.t. 6. to incline or bend: He leaned his head forward.
7. to cause to lean or rest; prop: to lean a chair against a railing.
8. lean on, Informal. to pressure or threaten.
n. 9. the act or state of leaning; inclination.
[before 900; Middle English lenen, Old English hleonian, hlinian, c. Old Saxon hlinōn, Old High German (h)linēn]
lean2
(lin)adj. , -er, -est,
n. adj.
1. (of persons or animals) without much flesh or fat; thin: lean cattle.
2. (of meat) containing little or no fat.
3. lacking in richness, fullness, quantity, etc.: a lean diet; lean years.
4. spare; economical.
5. (of a mixture in a fuel system) having a relatively low ratio of fuel to air (contrasted with rich).
6. (of paint) having more pigment than oil. Compare fat (def. 17).
7. (of ore) having a low mineral content.
n. 8. the part of flesh that consists of muscle rather than fat.
9. the lean part of anything.
[before 1000; Middle English lene, Old English hlǣne]
lean′ly, adv.
lean′ness, n.
Random House Kernerman Webster's College Dictionary, © 2010 K Dictionaries Ltd. Copyright 2005, 1997, 1991 by Random House, Inc. All rights reserved.
lean
- extenuate - Comes from the Latin verb extenuare, "make thin or lean," and originally meant "to treat as of small importance, make light of."
- macilent - Means "lean, thin" or "shriveled," i.e. lacking in substance.
- recubation, recumb - Recubation is reclining in a near-horizontal position; to recumb is to "lean, recline, rest."
- streaky - Describes bacon with alternating strips of fat and lean.
Farlex Trivia Dictionary. © 2012 Farlex, Inc. All rights reserved.
lean
Past participle: leaned/leant
Gerund: leaning
| Imperative |
|---|
| lean |
| lean |
Collins English Verb Tables © HarperCollins Publishers 2011
ThesaurusAntonymsRelated WordsSynonymsLegend:
Switch to new thesaurus
| Noun | 1. |  lean - 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"spatial relation, position - the spatial property of a place where or way in which something is situated; "the position of the hands on the clock"; "he specified the spatial relations of every piece of furniture on the stage" |
| Verb | 1. |  lean - to incline or bend from a vertical position; "She leaned over the banister"weather - cause to slope |
| 2. | lean - cause to lean or incline; "He leaned his rifle against the wall" | |
| 3. | lean - 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" be - have the quality of being; (copula, used with an adjective or a predicate noun); "John is rich"; "This is not a good answer" take kindly to - be willing or inclined to accept; "He did not take kindly to my critical remarks" suffer - be given to; "She suffers from a tendency to talk too much" gravitate - move toward; "The conversation gravitated towards politics" | |
| 4. | lean - rely on for support; "We can lean on this man" | |
| 5. | lean - cause to lean to the side; "Erosion listed the old tree" move - move so as to change position, perform a nontranslational motion; "He moved his hand slightly to the right" | |
| Adj. | 1. | lean - lacking excess flesh; "you can't be too rich or too thin"; "Yon Cassius has a lean and hungry look"-Shakespeare ectomorphic - having a build with little fat or muscle but with long limbs thin - of relatively small extent from one surface to the opposite or in cross section; "thin wire"; "a thin chiffon blouse"; "a thin book"; "a thin layer of paint" |
| 2. | lean - lacking in mineral content or combustible material; "lean ore"; "lean fuel" rich - high in mineral content; having a high proportion of fuel to air; "a rich vein of copper", "a rich gas mixture" | |
| 3. | lean - containing little excess; "a lean budget"; "a skimpy allowance" insufficient, deficient - of a quantity not able to fulfill a need or requirement; "insufficient funds" | |
| 4. | lean - not profitable or prosperous; "a lean year" unprofitable - producing little or no profit or gain; "deposits abandoned by mining companies as unprofitable" |
Based on WordNet 3.0, Farlex clipart collection. © 2003-2012 Princeton University, Farlex Inc.
lean
1verb
lean on someone
1. depend on, trust, rely on, cling to, count on, confide in, have faith in She leaned on him to help her solve her problems.
2. (Informal) pressurize, intimidate, coerce, breathe down someone's neck, browbeat, twist someone's arm (informal), put the screws on (slang) Colin was being leaned on by his bankers.
lean
2adjective
1. thin, slim, slender, skinny, angular, trim, spare, gaunt, bony, lanky, wiry, emaciated, scrawny, svelte, lank, rangy, scraggy, macilent (rare) She watched the tall, lean figure step into the car.
thin fat, ample, plump, full, burly, obese, portly, brawny
thin fat, ample, plump, full, burly, obese, portly, brawny
2. poor, hard, tough, bare, impoverished, barren, meagre, arid, unproductive, unfruitful the lean years of the 1930s
poor rich, abundant, plentiful, profuse
poor rich, abundant, plentiful, profuse
Collins Thesaurus of the English Language – Complete and Unabridged 2nd Edition. 2002 © HarperCollins Publishers 1995, 2002
lean 1
verb1. To depart or cause to depart from true vertical or horizontal:
lean 2
adjective1. Having little flesh or fat on the body:
angular, bony, fleshless, gaunt, lank, lanky, meager, rawboned, scrawny, skinny, slender, slim, spare, thin, twiggy, weedy.
Idioms: all skin and bones, thin as a rail.
2. Marked by or consisting of few words that are carefully chosen:
The American Heritage® Roget's Thesaurus. Copyright © 2013, 2014 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.
TranslationsSelect a language:
Spanish / Español
lean
1 [liːn]A. ADJ (leaner (compar) (leanest (superl)))
1. (= slim) [person, body] → delgado, enjuto; [animal] → flaco
companies will need to be leaner in order to compete → las compañías tendrán que racionalizarse para ser más competitivas
companies will need to be leaner in order to compete → las compañías tendrán que racionalizarse para ser más competitivas
B. N (Culin) → magro m
lean
2 [liːn] (leaned or leant (pt, pp))A. VI
1. (= slope) → inclinarse, ladearse
to lean to(wards) the left/right (lit) → estar inclinado hacia la izquierda/derecha (fig) (Pol) → inclinarse hacia la izquierda/la derecha
to lean towards sb's opinion → inclinarse por la opinión de algn
to lean to(wards) the left/right (lit) → estar inclinado hacia la izquierda/derecha (fig) (Pol) → inclinarse hacia la izquierda/la derecha
to lean towards sb's opinion → inclinarse por la opinión de algn
B. VT to lean a ladder/a bicycle against a wall → apoyar una escala/una bicicleta contra una pared
to lean one's head on sb's shoulder → apoyar la cabeza en el hombro de algn
to lean one's head on sb's shoulder → apoyar la cabeza en el hombro de algn
lean back VI + ADV → reclinarse, recostarse
lean forward VI + ADV → inclinarse hacia delante
lean over
A. VI + ADV → inclinarse
to lean over backwards to help sb → volcarse or desvivirse por ayudar a algn
we've leaned over backwards to get agreement → hemos hecho todo lo posible or nos hemos volcado para llegar a un acuerdo
to lean over backwards to help sb → volcarse or desvivirse por ayudar a algn
we've leaned over backwards to get agreement → hemos hecho todo lo posible or nos hemos volcado para llegar a un acuerdo
B. VI + PREP → inclinarse sobre
Collins Spanish Dictionary - Complete and Unabridged 8th Edition 2005 © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1971, 1988 © HarperCollins Publishers 1992, 1993, 1996, 1997, 2000, 2003, 2005
lean1
(liːn) – past tense, past participles leant (lent) , leaned – verb1. to slope over to one side; not to be upright. The lamp-post had slipped and was leaning across the road.inclinarse
2. to rest (against, on). She leaned the ladder against the wall; Don't lean your elbows on the table; He leant on the gate. apoyarse en/contra
ˈleaning noun a liking or preference. She has a leaning towards the arts.inclinación
lean2
(liːn) adjective2. not containing much fat. lean meat.magro
ˈleanness nounKernerman English Multilingual Dictionary © 2006-2013 K Dictionaries Ltd.
lean
→ apoyarseMultilingual Translator © HarperCollins Publishers 2009
lean
a. [meat] magro-a, sin grasa; [without flesh] enjuto, flaco-a; seco-a;
v. [aptitude]
to ___ toward → tener propensión o disposición hacia algo o hacia alguien [on, against] apoyarse, recostarse, arrimarse a [over] inclinarse.
English-Spanish Medical Dictionary © Farlex 2012
lean
adj (person) flaco, delgado; (meat) magro, sin grasa; vi inclinarse; Lean forward..Inclínese hacia adelante.English-Spanish/Spanish-English Medical Dictionary Copyright © 2006 by The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved.