fine

A1 Topic:Describing Qualities

US /ˈfaːn/ UK /ˈfaɪ̯n/ See IPA manual

verb adv adj Freq #200

Meanings

1

adj
Good enough; satisfactory or in good health.

"How are you?" "I'm fine, thanks."
2

adj
Of very good quality; excellent.

They served a fine wine with dinner.
3

adj
Made of very small or thin pieces.

The flour was ground into a fine powder.
4

noun
An amount of money you must pay as a punishment.

He had to pay a fine for parking illegally.
5

verb
To make someone pay money as a punishment.

She was fined for speeding on the highway.

Thesaurus

Synonyms

1 adj · good enough; satisfactory... good

2 adj · of very good quality;... excellent

5 verb · to make someone pay money... ticket

More amerce amercement

Word family

Forms finedfinerfinesfinestfining

Derived forms finablefineablefinelessunfined

Related forms filing final finance finite

Common collocations

fine art Adjective + noun

Etymology

From Middle English fin, fyn, from Old French fin (“fine, minute, exact”), of obscure origin, but probably derived from Latin fīnīre (“to finish”) or fīnis (“boundary, limit, end”), with an abstract sense of fine or thin also arising in many Romance languages (compare Italian, Portuguese, and Spanish fino). Doublet of fino.

fin Middle English fīniō Latin

View etymology graph ->

Topics

Describing Qualities Money & Finance

# fine

**Type:** Word
**Level:** A1
**Part of speech:** verb, adv, adj
**IPA (US):** ˈfaːn
**IPA (UK):** ˈfaɪ̯n
**Frequency rank:** 200

## Meanings
1. Good enough; satisfactory or in good health.
2. Of very good quality; excellent.
3. Made of very small or thin pieces.
4. An amount of money you must pay as a punishment.
5. To make someone pay money as a punishment.

## Examples
- "How are you?" "I'm fine, thanks."
- They served a fine wine with dinner.
- The flour was ground into a fine powder.
- He had to pay a fine for parking illegally.
- She was fined for speeding on the highway.

## Synonyms
- amerce
- amercement

## Derived Forms
- finable
- fineable
- fineless
- unfined

## Related Forms
- filing
- final
- finance
- finite

## Roots and Affixes
- Root: fin
- Root: fīniō

## Etymology
From Middle English fin, fyn, from Old French fin (“fine, minute, exact”), of obscure origin, but probably derived from Latin fīnīre (“to finish”) or fīnis (“boundary, limit, end”), with an abstract sense of fine or thin also arising in many Romance languages (compare Italian, Portuguese, and Spanish fino). Doublet of fino.

## AI Etymology
Fine comes from Middle English fin, fyn, from Old French fin (“fine, minute, exact”), of obscure origin, but probably derived from Latin fīnīre (“to finish”) or fīnis (“boundary, limit, end”), with an abstract sense of fine or thin also arising in many Romance languages (compare Italian, Portuguese, and Spanish fino). Doublet of fino. In current use, the main senses are “Good enough; satisfactory or in good health” and “Of very good quality; excellent”.

## Topics
- Describing Qualities
- Money & Finance

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