1
: an external membranous process of an aquatic animal (such as a fish) used in propelling or guiding the body see fish illustration
2
: something resembling a fin: such as
b(1)
: an appendage of a boat (such as a submarine)
(2)
: an airfoil attached to an airplane for directional stability
c
d
: any of the projecting ribs on a radiator or an engine cylinder
finned; finning
: to equip with fins
slang
: a 5-dollar bill
1
finance; financial
2
finish
Examples of fin in a Sentence
Recent Examples on the Web
Mikael Wood, Los Angeles Times, 12 Apr. 2024
There were fins on stage, fins to the left and fins to the right.
—Bryan Alexander, USA TODAY, 12 Apr. 2024
These rules were intended to decrease the animals’ suffering from finning and prevent them from being killed just for their fins.
—Catherine Duncan, Smithsonian Magazine, 16 Jan. 2024
Conservationists have long railed against the practice of finning sharks, and there are more bans in place now than ever.
—Justin Klawans, theweek, 31 Jan. 2024
But regulations that directly target shark mortality—not finning alone—should be pursued to protect sharks as a whole, the study authors tell Live Science’s Melissa Hobson.
—Catherine Duncan, Smithsonian Magazine, 16 Jan. 2024
By the 1920s, humpbacks were scarce, so the industry began targeting blue whales and then fin and sei whales.
—Douglas Main, Smithsonian Magazine, 18 Jan. 2024
Three decades into his projet sans fin, Invader is more monomaniacal than ever.
—Lauren Collins, The New Yorker, 11 Dec. 2023
The Falcon 9 first stage tucks its grid fins down during launch, minimizing atmospheric drag on the way up through Earth's atmosphere.
—Eric Berger, Ars Technica, 17 Nov. 2023
Irene Wright, Miami Herald, 22 May 2024
Though the biggest giveaway for identifying a wild fish is fin shape.
—Max Inchausti, Field & Stream, 22 May 2024
The crew looked over the side and saw black fins breaking the glassy surface.
—Tomas Weber, Rolling Stone, 18 May 2024
These fins are also smaller and more lightweight than most, which is especially helpful while my son is young.
—Laura Lu, Parents, 17 May 2024
Design: Wi-Fi With Wings The M60 has a matte white and light blue enclosure with two fins on either side that curve up and in.
—PCMAG, 16 May 2024
The album cover features Lipa with her hair dyed red for this new era of music, chilling in the ocean with a shark fin, which could signal trouble, prominently poking out of the water.
—Mariyam Muhammad, The Enquirer, 3 May 2024
The corpses are washing up by the thousands on Southern California’s beaches: a transparent ringed oval like a giant thumbprint 2 to 3 inches long, with a sail-like fin running diagonally down the length of the body.
—Corinne Purtill, Los Angeles Times, 3 May 2024
Risso’s dolphins, also called gray dolphins, are known for their distinct features – their tall, sharp fin and battle scars from fighting with other dolphins.
—Julia Daye, Sacramento Bee, 23 Apr. 2024
Verb
There were fins to the left, fins to the right and fins on the stage — Crow couldn’t resist joining in.
—Mikael Wood, Los Angeles Times, 12 Apr. 2024
There were fins on stage, fins to the left and fins to the right.
—Bryan Alexander, USA TODAY, 12 Apr. 2024
These rules were intended to decrease the animals’ suffering from finning and prevent them from being killed just for their fins.
—Catherine Duncan, Smithsonian Magazine, 16 Jan. 2024
Conservationists have long railed against the practice of finning sharks, and there are more bans in place now than ever.
—Justin Klawans, theweek, 31 Jan. 2024
But regulations that directly target shark mortality—not finning alone—should be pursued to protect sharks as a whole, the study authors tell Live Science’s Melissa Hobson.
—Catherine Duncan, Smithsonian Magazine, 16 Jan. 2024
By the 1920s, humpbacks were scarce, so the industry began targeting blue whales and then fin and sei whales.
—Douglas Main, Smithsonian Magazine, 18 Jan. 2024
Three decades into his projet sans fin, Invader is more monomaniacal than ever.
—Lauren Collins, The New Yorker, 11 Dec. 2023
The Falcon 9 first stage tucks its grid fins down during launch, minimizing atmospheric drag on the way up through Earth's atmosphere.
—Eric Berger, Ars Technica, 17 Nov. 2023
Noun
The pectoral and pelvic fins on male fish are slightly larger than the female fins, and the base of the anal-fin is straight in females but convex in males, researchers said.
—Irene Wright, Miami Herald, 22 May 2024
Though the biggest giveaway for identifying a wild fish is fin shape.
—Max Inchausti, Field & Stream, 22 May 2024
The crew looked over the side and saw black fins breaking the glassy surface.
—Tomas Weber, Rolling Stone, 18 May 2024
These fins are also smaller and more lightweight than most, which is especially helpful while my son is young.
—Laura Lu, Parents, 17 May 2024
Design: Wi-Fi With Wings The M60 has a matte white and light blue enclosure with two fins on either side that curve up and in.
—PCMAG, 16 May 2024
The album cover features Lipa with her hair dyed red for this new era of music, chilling in the ocean with a shark fin, which could signal trouble, prominently poking out of the water.
—Mariyam Muhammad, The Enquirer, 3 May 2024
The corpses are washing up by the thousands on Southern California’s beaches: a transparent ringed oval like a giant thumbprint 2 to 3 inches long, with a sail-like fin running diagonally down the length of the body.
—Corinne Purtill, Los Angeles Times, 3 May 2024
Risso’s dolphins, also called gray dolphins, are known for their distinct features – their tall, sharp fin and battle scars from fighting with other dolphins.
—Julia Daye, Sacramento Bee, 23 Apr. 2024
These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'fin.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.
Dictionary Entries Near fin
Cite this Entry
“Fin.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/fin. Accessed 28 May. 2024.
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