FluentPlex

lean

/ˈliːn/ adjective B1
  1. Slim; not fleshy.
  2. Having little fat. · lean steak cuts
  3. Having little extra or little to spare; scanty; meagre. · a lean budget· a lean harvest
  4. Having a low proportion or concentration of a desired substance or ingredient. · A lean ore hardly worth mining.· Running on too lean a fuel-air mixture will cause, among other problems, your internal combustion engine to heat up too much.
  5. Efficient, economic, frugal, agile, slimmed-down; pertaining to the modern industrial principles of "lean manufacturing". · lean management· lean manufacturing

Comparative leaner · Superlative leanest

+ Save to review

From the library

Then the tall, lean figure inclined towards me.
The Valley of Fear, p. 78 · C1
“Really, have you had a vision of the seven fat kine and the seven lean kine?”
The Count of Monte Cristo, p. 88 · C1
In height he was rather over six feet, and so excessively lean that he seemed to be considerably taller.
A Study in Scarlet, p. 12 · B2
Lestrade, lean and ferret-like as ever, was standing by the doorway, and greeted my companion and myself.
A Study in Scarlet, p. 29 · B2

Other matches

Learn lean in real texts

With a free account, hover any word in the library for its meaning, hear it read aloud, save words for review timed to your memory, and see how much of each book you already know.

Create free account
Words, meanings, pronunciations and translations from Wiktionary (CC BY-SA 4.0); how common each word is from wordfreq. Made into this dictionary by FluentPlex.