adj., fin·er, fin·est.
- Of superior quality, skill, or appearance: a fine day; a fine writer.
- Very small in size, weight, or thickness: fine type; fine paper.
- Free from impurities.
- Metallurgy. Containing pure metal in a specified proportion or amount: gold 21 carats fine.
- Very sharp; keen: a blade with a fine edge.
- Thin; slender: fine hairs.
- Exhibiting careful and delicate artistry: fine china. See synonyms at delicate.
- Consisting of very small particles; not coarse: fine dust.
- Subtle or precise: a fine difference.
- Able to make or detect effects of great subtlety or precision; sensitive: has a fine eye for color.
- Trained to the highest degree of physical efficiency: a fine racehorse.
- Characterized by refinement or elegance.
- Satisfactory; acceptable: Handing in your paper on Monday is fine.
- Being in a state of satisfactory health; quite well: I'm fine. And you?
- Used as an intensive: a fine mess.
- Finely.
- Informal. Very well: doing fine.
To make or become finer, purer, or cleaner.
[Middle English fin, from Old French, from Latin fīnis, end, supreme degree.]
fineness fine'ness n.fine2 (fīn)
n.
- A sum of money required to be paid as a penalty for an offense.
- Law.
- A forfeiture or penalty to be paid to the offended party in a civil action.
- An amicable settlement of a suit over land ownership.
- Obsolete. An end; a termination.
To require the payment of a fine from; impose a fine on.
idiom:
in fine
- In conclusion; finally.
- In summation; in brief.
[Middle English fin, from Old French, settlement, compensation, from Medieval Latin fīnis, from Latin, end.]
finable fin'a·ble or fine'a·ble adj.fi·ne3 (fē'nā)
n. Music
The end.
[Italian, from Latin fīnis, end.]
The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition Copyright © 2007, 2000 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Updated in 2009. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
