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yarn

noun · verb

Simple meaning

A twisted strand of fibre used for knitting or weaving.

Pronunciation

Say it like this:

yahrn
US device voice
IPA pronunciation (US)

ˈjɑɹn

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. uncountable

    A twisted strand of fibre used for knitting or weaving.

  2. countable

    A story, a tale, especially one that is incredible.

verb

  1. intransitive

    To tell a story or stories, especially one that is lengthy or unlikely to be true.

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 twisted strand of fibre used for knitting or weaving.

Used this way, yarn 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.

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Common Patterns and Combinations

How this word naturally appears with others.

Twisted / bundles

cotton yarnsilk yarnlinen yarnwool yarnfilament yarn

Other combinations

good yarnrayon yarnwoollen yarn

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Word Family

Related forms, grouped by how they connect.

Compound terms

Established multiword terms.

  • yarn-dyeverbCompound term

    Dye (fabric) before it is spun.

  • rope yarnnounCompound term

    The strands out of which ropes are made.

  • spun yarnnounCompound term

    Small stuff consisting of a lightweight rope made of several rope yarns loosely wound together.

  • worsted yarnnounCompound term

    A tightly twisted woolen yarn spun from long-staple wool.

More about this wordSynonyms, forms, origin

Synonyms

noun

Sense: twisted strand of fibre used for knitting

thread

verb

Sense: to tell a story or stories

story

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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.