Compared with last year's thin profits, this year's profits are plentiful.En comparación con las escasas ganancias del año pasado, las de este año son buenas.
Gordon looked thinner and tiredShe kept getting even thinner and palerYou are thinner. Are you ill?...gorgeous thin modelsHis thin body shivered uncontrollablyHe was a banker, a potbellied, bald man with thin [legs]He'd love to have a smaller bum and thinner thighsShe had long, thin [fingers]
[+waist]delgado;estrecho
She had a thin [waist] and long legs
[+face]delgado
Tony saw that her [face] had grown thinnerHe had a very thin [face] and wore wire-rimmed glasses...his long, thin [face]
[+nose]delgado;afilado
His [nose] was long and thin
[+lips]fino
She pulled her thin [lips] together and sucked her breath in like a snake
[+animal]flaco
...thin, half-starved kittens
to getorgrow thinadelgazar
I want to get nice and thin for the holidaysquiero adelgazar bien para estas vacaciones;you're getting thin, aren't you eating enough?te estás quedando muy delgado, ¿comes lo suficiente?
he had got much thinner since the last time he had visitedyou're getting thin - aren't you eating enough?he had grown thin with age and worry
she was painfully thinestaba tan flaca que daba pena verla
to be as thin as a rakeestar en los huesos (informal)
he's as thin as a rakeShe is as thin as a rake: she has been starving herself for a year and more
2(not thick)[+layer, sheet]fino;delgado
It helps to wear several thin [layers] of clothing rather than one thick oneIn the night a thin [layer] of ice had formed over the puddlesThe floor was coated with a thin [layer] of black mud -delgado?...a thin [layer] of soil...a thin film of oil on the surface of the water -delgada?...a thin sheet of glass
[+wall]delgado
Exasperated neighbours banged on the thin [walls] with broomsticks
[+slice, line, fabric]fino
Peel the potatoes and cut into thin [slices]Carve each fillet into thin [slices]...long thin [slices] of carrotHis lips were set in a thin [line]...a collarless shirt with a thin grey [stripe]...a thin cotton shirt...a thin strand of woolA thin wire connects the sensor with a personal computer
a thin layer of paintuna capa fina de pintura
a thin volume of poetryun delgado tomo de poesía
to wear thin[+fabric, clothing]desgastarse
his trousers had worn thin at the kneeel pantalón se le había desgastado por las rodillas;the joke had begun to wear very thinla broma ya empezaba a resultar muy pesada;my patience is wearing thinse me está agotando or acabando la paciencia
it's the thin end of the wedgees el principio de algo que puede tener terribles consecuencias
They accuse their opponents of using this issue as the thin end of a wedge designed to abolish the Swiss armyProtectionism was the thin end of a collectivist wedge in the eyes of free-trade Conservatives
to be or skate or walk on thin iceestar pisando terreno resbaladizo or peligroso
You don't seem to realize what thin ice you are onAll through my career I had skated on thin ice on many assignmentsWe know we're skating on thin ice, but then that's what this record label has always been about
to have a thin skinofenderse por nada;tomárselo todo a mal
Take no notice of him: he's got a very thin skin and can't take criticismEvidence of such a thin skin and lack of tenacity means that Evans is certainly not cut out to be a journalist
The [liquid] was thin and greyish brownPush the mixture through a sieve to make a thin puree.All we had to eat was a thin, watery broth
4(not dense)[+smoke, fog, rain]fino
A thin wisp of [smoke] straggled up through the pinesThe thin blue [smoke] went curling upHe saw all this through a thin veil of broken mistIt was five o'clock and a thin drizzle was fallingThere was a thin cloud of [spray] rising from the waterfall
5(sparse)[+beard, hair]ralo;escaso
He was about my age and size and had a thin [beard]Lescombe rubbed his hand through his thin [hair]
[+eyebrows]fino;delgado
...her thin [eyebrows] almost met above her nose
[+crowd]escaso;poco numeroso
The [crowd], which had been thin for the first half of the race, had now grown considerably.The [crowd] seemed suddenly thinner
to be thin on the groundespecially(Britain)escasear
doctors are thin on the ground hereGood new plays are still rather thin on the groundTalent is thin on the ground in this departmentGood news has been thin on the ground latelyTrue gypsies, sadly now thin on the ground in Britain, lived and roamed in some of the most remote parts of Shropshire for many years
to be thin on topestar casi calvo;tener poco pelo (en la cabeza)
6(unconvincing)[+excuse]pobre;poco convincente
That's all they need, one word for a thin [excuse], and they cry warAt best, this [argument] is thin, but it is often raisedEven if the optimists' theory is true, it still seems a thin [argument] against reform.
[+evidence]poco concluyente
He was believed, on rather thin [evidence], to be a Communist sympathizer[Evidence] that an economic recovery is on its way remains worryingly thinthe [evidence] is thin and, to some extent, ambiguous.
[+argument, essay, script]pobre;flojo
The [script] is very thin at the best of times
a thin majorityuna mayoría escasa
The government's thin majority in Parliament leaves it very vulnerable
a thin smileuna débil sonrisa
He looked at Kenworthy with a thin smileShe managed a thin smile
7(weak)[+voice]aflautado
Her thin [voice] rose high in complaint.Leroy sang in a thin, reedy [voice]"Come in," he said in a thin, cracked [voice]
8(Economics)[+profit]escaso
trading was thin on the stock markethubo poca actividad en la bolsa
Analysts said that [trading] was thin as market players awaited the release of US economic dataTokyo stocks fell for the third consecutive day in thin [trading]"A thin [profit] from many ships," Pao once said, "will eventually produce more money than a quick killing."They have to survive on the thinnest of [profit] marginsto have a thin [time] (of it)The 1960s were a thin time for Mulligan. He freely admits to membership of the `tuneless noise" lobby regarding most pop and rock, and his quiet, thoughtful sound was out of favourWe are having a thin time of it, thanks to the recession
The pilot can descend slowly through the cold, thin upper atmosphere...the thin [atmosphere] of Mars...in these high mountains where the [air] was thin
out of/into thin air
to appear out of thin airaparecer como por arte de magia
he had materialized out of thin [air]; I had not seen or heard him coming
to produce sth out of thin airsacar algo de la nada;I can't conjure up the money out of thin airno puedo sacar el dinero de la nada;he disappeared or vanished into thin airdespareció como por arte de magia;se lo tragó la tierra
Apart from my former business partner, who has been fabulous to me, my friends disappeared into thin [air]He left the house and disappeared into thin [air]
adverb
(thinly)
slice the potatoes very thincorta las patatas en rodajas muy finas
How does she peel apples and potatoes so thin?
don't slice the bread too thinno cortes el pan demasiado fino
spread the butter very thinuntar una capa muy fina de mantequilla
1(also thin out) (reduce in number)[+population, group]mermar
I think the difficult years thinned the artists' ranks considerablyHe thinned the ranks of bureaucrats running the partyEvacuation had briefly thinned out the school population of Greenwich
[+seedlings]entresacar
Once [seedlings] are large enough to handle, thin them out to give them more spaceSow in rows 6cm apart and thin the [seedlings] to leave them 4cm apartThin out young winter lettuces and sow a fresh supply
2(also thin down) (dilute)[+sauce, soup]aclarar
I think the gravy needs thinning a bit...an avocado dressing thinned with a little sweet wineCool [soup] slightly, liquidize, and thin with milk if desired
[+paint]diluir
The [paint] has been thinned down too muchHe thinned the oil [paint] with turpentine
aspirin thins the bloodla aspirina hace que la sangre sea menos espesa;greenhouse gases are thinning the ozone layerlos gases que causan el efecto invernadero están haciendo que la capa de ozono sea cada vez menos espesa
intransitive verb
(also thin out) (lessen)[+fog]aclararse
The [fog] was thinning out. Visibility was now at about five hundred yardsBy lunchtime the [fog] was thinning and the sun breaking through
[+ozone layer]hacerse menos espeso
As the [ozone layer] thins out, increasing amounts of UVA and UVB radiation are reaching the earthThe earth's protective [ozone layer] is thinning at a rate far worse than once was believed
[+crowd]disminuir
the [crowd] was definitely thinning nowBy the time Shirlee returned to him the party was thinning out
[+population]mermar;reducirse
Western cities are thinning out as people move to the suburbs
his hair is thinning slightlyestá empezando a perder pelo
