a silvery malleable metallic element that resists corrosion; used in many alloys and to coat other metals to prevent corrosion; obtained chiefly from cassiterite where it occurs as tin oxide
"The old can opener struggled slightly before slicing through the tough, silver lining of the rusty food tin."
a vessel (box, can, pan, etc.) made of tinplate and used mainly in baking
"She lined the oven rack with a large baking tin to make sure the cookies wouldn't stick."
A malleable, ductile, metallic element, resistant to corrosion, with atomic number 50 and symbol Sn.
"Please enter your TIN on line four of the tax form to avoid processing delays."
Initialism of taxpayer identification number.
In plain English: Tin is a soft, silvery metal that is often used to make cans for food and drinks.
"She opened the tin of beans to make dinner."
plate with tin
"She scraped off the burnt sauce from a dented tin to reuse it for storing leftovers."
prepare (a metal) for soldering or brazing by applying a thin layer of solder to the surface
"Before attaching the copper pipe, he carefully tinned each end with flux and a bit of molten lead to ensure a strong seal."
To place into a metal can (ie. a tin; be it tin, steel, aluminum) in order to preserve.
"We spent all afternoon tinning the fresh tomatoes so they would last through the winter."
In plain English: To tin something means to cover it with a thin layer of tin metal to protect it from rusting.
"The old shed was filled with tin cans from the recycling center."
Usage: Use the verb tin specifically when describing the process of sealing food or other items inside a metal container for preservation. This term refers strictly to the act of placing goods into such cans rather than the material itself.
Made of tin.
"We wrapped the leftover cookies in a small sheet of shiny tin to keep them fresh."
In plain English: Tin describes something that is made of tin, a soft gray metal often used to make cans.
"The old tin roof began to leak during the heavy rainstorm."
The word tin has been used with the same meaning since Old English. It traveled directly into English from earlier Germanic languages without a change in its original sense.