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# thinning

«thinning» in Mova's school dictionary: **becoming thinner or less thick** — its meaning for a pupil, its sense in the lessons and examples, with 2 sentences of Mova's corpora that use it.

### part of speech

verb form (present participle of «thin»: thin, thins, thinned, thinning); noun (thinning); adjective (thinning)

### meaning for a pupil

1) Thinning means becoming thinner or less thick. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/T/thinning/#m1)

2) Thinning hair is hair that is getting less, as some people's does when they get older. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/T/thinning/#m2)

3) In gardening, thinning (out) means pulling up some young plants so the others have room to grow. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/T/thinning/#m3)

4) A crowd or traffic that is thinning is getting smaller. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/T/thinning/#m4)

### sense in the lessons

In gardening and science lessons: thinning seedlings so each has space, light and water. In everyday life: «Grandad's hair is thinning». In geography: thinning ice in the Arctic, a thinning ozone layer. In paint and cooking: thinning paint or sauce with water.

### examples

- Grandad's hair is thinning on top. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/T/thinning/#x1)
- We are thinning the carrot seedlings so they can grow big. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/T/thinning/#x2)
- The crowd was thinning after the concert. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/T/thinning/#x3)
- Scientists worry about the thinning ice in the Arctic. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/T/thinning/#x4)
- Add water for thinning the paint. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/T/thinning/#x5)
- The trees were thinning as we got higher up the mountain. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/T/thinning/#x6)
- Traffic is thinning now that rush hour is over. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/T/thinning/#x7)

### note

Double «n»: thin → thinning, thinned. Opposite: thickening. «Thinning out» in gardening is a careful job; you keep the strongest plants.

### In the corpora

- [Kind words soften the truth: wrinkles become "laughter lines" and a balding man is "thinning on top".](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/euphemisms/9-age-looks-and-size/1/)
- ["Thinning on top" is a polite way to say going bald.](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/euphemisms/9-age-looks-and-size/11/)

### Trees and pragmatics

[Every meaning and example of «thinning» parsed by Mova](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/T/thinning/), each sentence with its dependency tree and frames.