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fine

noun · adjective · adverb · verb

Simple meaning

Subtle, delicately balanced or discriminated.

Pronunciation

Say it like this:

fyn
US device voice
IPA pronunciation (US)

ˈfaɪn

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. usually in the plural

    Something that is fine; fine particles.

  2. Fine champagne; French brandy.

  3. Cambridge University slang

    A drink that must be taken during a meal or as part of a drinking game, following an announcement that anyone who has done some (usually outrageous) deed is to be fined; similar to I have never; commonly associated with swaps; very similar to a sconce at Oxford University, though a fine is the penalty itself rather than the act of issuing it.

adjective

  1. An answer often used to cover an unnecessary explanation, rather to avoid conflict or an argument. Saying "I'm fine" can be used to avoid inquiry when the speaker is not really okay.

  2. Subtle, delicately balanced or discriminated.

  3. Delicate; subtle; exquisite; artful; dexterous.

  4. Of a particular grade of quality, usually between very good and very fine, and below mint.

  5. Consisting of especially minute particulates; made up of particularly small pieces.

  6. Particularly slender; especially thin, narrow, or of small girth.

adverb

  1. Well, nicely, in a positive, agreeable way.

verb

  1. To make finer, or less coarse, as in bulk, texture, etc.

  2. transitive

    To clarify (wine and beer) by filtration.

  3. transitive

    To make finer, purer, or cleaner; to purify or clarify.

  4. intransitive

    To become finer, purer, or cleaner.

  5. To change by fine gradations.

  6. Issue a ticket or a fine to as a penalty

    “I was fined for parking on the wrong side of the street.”

Word at a Glance

Difficulty
A1 · Beginner
Frequency
Very Common
Typical Use
Everyday English

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fine artfine structurefine linesome finefine weatherfine dayfine examplefine sand

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Word Family

Related forms, grouped by how they connect.

Word family

Words built from the same root.

  • finelyadverbDerived adverb

    In tiny pieces.

Compound terms

Established multiword terms.

  • fine spraynounCompound term

    Precipitation in very small drops.

  • fine structurenounCompound term

    The presence of groups of closely spaced spectrum lines observed in the atomic spectrum of certain elements.

  • fine-tooth combnounCompound term

    A comb with teeth set close together.

  • fine-toothed combnounCompound term

    A comb with teeth set close together.

  • fine-tuneverbCompound term

    Improve or perfect by pruning or polishing.

  • fine artsnounCompound term

    The study and creation of visual works of art.

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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.