Definition of "tin"

tin

/tɪn/

noun
countable and uncountable, plural tins
1. (uncountable) A malleable, ductile, metallic element, resistant to corrosion, with atomic number 50 and symbol Sn.
2. (New Zealand, Australia, South Africa, Ireland, Britain, countable) An airtight container, made of tin or another metal, used to preserve food, or hold a liquid or some other product.
  Quotations
  When it arrived, the train was headed by a "K" class 4-6-0 wood-burning locomotive, and a water-tank wagon next to the tender was immediately besieged by women and girls, clad in their picturesque national costume, all with empty kerosene tins for water, a scene which was re-enacted at each stop down the line.
  1943 November and December, G. T. Porter, “The Lines Behind the Lines in Burma”, in Railway Magazine, page 325
3. (countable) A metal pan used for baking, roasting, etc.
4. (countable, squash) The bottom part of the front wall, which is "out" if a player strikes it with the ball.
5. (slang, dated, uncountable) money, especially silver money.
  Quotations
  The father is a cotton lord, and they all have loads of tin, you know
  1844, Benjamin Disraeli, Coningsby
  When all your tin is gone and spent, / And you've not a mag for bread or rent
  1861, Philip William Perfitt, The Pathfinder, page 377
6. (slang, uncountable) computer hardware.
adjective
not comparable
1. Made of tin.
2. Made of galvanised iron or built of corrugated iron.
  Quotations
  [I]n fact he was a big noise, literally, in the Baptist Chapel, known locally as the Tin Tab[ernacle] - whereas my family were 'church' and Uncle Ezekiel was an infidel at that.
  1939, George Orwell, Coming up for Air, London: Victor Gollancz
verb
third-person singular simple present tins, present participle tinning, simple past and past participle tinned
1. (transitive) To place into a metal can (ie. a tin; be it tin, steel, aluminum) in order to preserve.
2. (transitive) To cover with tin.
3. (transitive) To coat with solder
  1. To coat with solder, in preparation for soldering, to ensure a good solder joint
  2. To coat with solder, in order to consolidate braided wire, so as to make contact with all strands and reduce fragility of the fraying wire