use-icon

HOW TO USE THE DICTIONARY

To look up an entry in The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language, use the search window above. For best results, after typing in the word, click on the “Search” button instead of using the “enter” key.

Some compound words (like bus rapid transit, dog whistle, or identity theft) don’t appear on the drop-down list when you type them in the search bar. For best results with compound words, place a quotation mark before the compound word in the search window.

guide to the dictionary

use-icon

THE USAGE PANEL

The Usage Panel is a group of nearly 200 prominent scholars, creative writers, journalists, diplomats, and others in occupations requiring mastery of language. Annual surveys have gauged the acceptability of particular usages and grammatical constructions.

The Panelists

open-icon

AMERICAN HERITAGE DICTIONARY APP

The new American Heritage Dictionary app is now available for iOS and Android.

scroll-icon

THE AMERICAN HERITAGE DICTIONARY BLOG

The articles in our blog examine new words, revised definitions, interesting images from the fifth edition, discussions of usage, and more.

100-words-icon

See word lists from the best-selling 100 Words Series!

Find out more!

open-icon

INTERESTED IN DICTIONARIES?

Check out the Dictionary Society of North America at http://www.dictionarysociety.com

fine 1 (fīn)
Share:
adj. fin·er, fin·est
1.
a. Of superior quality, skill, or appearance: a fine day; a fine wine.
b. Excellent in character or ability: a fine person; a fine writer.
2. Very small in size, weight, or thickness: fine type; fine paper.
3.
a. Free from impurities.
b. Metallurgy Containing pure metal in a specified proportion or amount: gold 21 carats fine.
4. Very sharp; keen: a blade with a fine edge.
5. Thin; slender: fine hairs.
6. Carefully or delicately made or done: fine china. See Synonyms at exquisite.
7. Consisting of very small particles; not coarse: fine dust.
8.
a. Marginally different or subtle: a fine difference.
b. Able to make or detect effects of great subtlety or precision; sensitive: has a fine eye for color.
9. Trained to the highest degree of physical efficiency: a fine racehorse.
10. Characterized by refinement or elegance: people in the finest society.
11. Satisfactory; acceptable: Handing in your paper on Monday is fine.
12. Being in a state of satisfactory health; quite well: "How are you?" "I'm fine."
13. Used as an intensive: a fine mess.
adv.
1. Finely.
2. Informal Very well: doing fine.
tr. & intr.v. fined, fin·ing, fines
To make or become finer, purer, or cleaner.

[Middle English fin, from Old French, from Latin fīnis, end, supreme degree.]

fineness n.

The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition copyright ©2022 by HarperCollins Publishers. All rights reserved.
 
fine 2 (fīn)
Share:
n.
1. A sum of money required to be paid especially to the government as a penalty for an offense.
2. Obsolete An end; a termination.
tr.v. fined, fin·ing, fines
To require the payment of a fine from; impose a fine on.
Idiom:
in fine
1. In conclusion; finally.
2. In summation; in brief.

[Middle English fin, from Old French, settlement, compensation, from Medieval Latin fīnis, from Latin, end.]

fina·ble, finea·ble adj.

The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition copyright ©2022 by HarperCollins Publishers. All rights reserved.
 
fi·ne 3 (fēnā)
Share:
n.
Music
The end.

[Italian, from Latin fīnis, end.]

The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition copyright ©2022 by HarperCollins Publishers. All rights reserved.
 

Indo-European & Semitic Roots Appendices

    Thousands of entries in the dictionary include etymologies that trace their origins back to reconstructed proto-languages. You can obtain more information about these forms in our online appendices:

    Indo-European Roots

    Semitic Roots

    The Indo-European appendix covers nearly half of the Indo-European roots that have left their mark on English words. A more complete treatment of Indo-European roots and the English words derived from them is available in our Dictionary of Indo-European Roots.