tine
Americannoun
noun
-
a slender prong, esp of a fork
-
any of the sharp terminal branches of a deer's antler
Other Word Forms
- tined adjective
Etymology
Origin of tine
before 900; late Middle English tyne, Middle English tind, Old English; cognate with Old High German zint, Old Norse tindr
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
In Tayari Jones’s novel, two childhood friends in 1950s Louisiana take “different tines at the fork in the road.”
Vernice eventually realizes that she and her friend have taken “different tines at the fork in the road.”
He stabbed his fork into his mashed potatoes and savored the sound of the metal tines hitting the plate.
From Literature
Use the tines of a fork to flatten and indent crisscross patterns over the tops of each cookie.
From Salon
The 5-foot-6-inch robot shuffled to the dishwasher, pulled the door handle and slid a fork—tines up, naturally—into the silverware holder.
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
