VocabauraVOCABAURA

fin

noun · verb

Simple meaning

A similar appendage of a cetacean or other marine animal.

Pronunciation

Say it like this:

fin
US device voice
IPA pronunciation (US)

ˈfɪn

This word is pronounced essentially the same in American and British English, so one transcription covers both.

IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) is a standard way of writing speech sounds.

Word Review

Definition

Everyday modern meanings first, grouped by part of speech.

noun

  1. A similar appendage of a cetacean or other marine animal.

  2. ichthyologyzootomy

    One of the appendages of a fish, used to propel itself and to manoeuvre/maneuver.

  3. A stabilizer on a ship that resembles the fin of a fish

  4. A similar structure protruding from a projectile, used to help keep it on course.

  5. A thin, rigid component of an aircraft, extending from the fuselage and used to stabilise and steer the aircraft.

  6. A hairstyle, resembling the fin of a fish, in which the hair is combed and set into a vertical ridge along the top of the head from about the crown to the forehead.

verb

  1. Equip (a car) with fins

  2. transitive

    To cut the fins from a fish, shark, etc.

  3. intransitiveOf a fish

    To swim with the dorsal fin above the surface of the water.

  4. intransitive

    To swim in the manner of a fish.

  5. Show the fins above the water while swimming

    “The sharks were finning near the surface.”

  6. transitive

    To provide (a motor vehicle etc) with fins.

Word at a Glance

Difficulty
B1 · Intermediate (estimated)
Frequency
Moderately Common
Typical Use
Neutral / general English

Word Aura™

How this word commonly comes across.

Aura for this meaning

This meaning: A similar appendage of a cetacean or other marine animal.

Used this way, fin is a reasonably familiar word that usually carries little praise or criticism of its own. It usually sounds natural in a wide range of settings.

Emotional tone
Neutral
Formality
Neutral
Intensity
Not strongly marked
How common
Moderately common
Connotation
Matter-of-fact
Usage feel
Neutral and straightforward

Word Aura describes common impressions, not a measurement. Tone changes with sentence, speaker, relationship and situation.

Share your sentence

Write your own example sentence using “fin”. We review each one before it appears.

Common Patterns and Combinations

How this word naturally appears with others.

Extending

dorsal fintail fin

Other combinations

caudal finpectoral finpelvic finfin whaleventral finfin des

Tap the highlighted word to open its own entry.

Use This Word

See how this word sounds in a real sentence.

Ask Vocabaura

Understand the word your way.

What Does It Mean Here?

Words can change meaning depending on context.

Use it yourself

Knowing “fin” starts when you use it. Pick a next step, all free.

Know the meaning? Practice using it in a real situation, free, no credits.

Dictionary data from Wiktionary via the Free Dictionary API. Simple meanings, combinations and word intelligence are built from verified reference data, no AI is used to load this page.