word

chin (noun, verb) /tʃɪn/

The chin, you might know already, is the lowest part of our face, below the mouth. Did you know that chin is also the verb for a gymnastics exercise? Chin, mostly in the UK, is what you do when you grasp an overhead bar and pull yourself upward until your chin is above or level with the bar—it is often used in the phrase “chin the bar” or reflexively, as “chin yourself.” This is why the exercise itself its called a chin-up, though in most parts of the US, this would be a pull-up. In US slang, rather dated now, to chin also means ‘to talk or chat.’ When you hold a violin to your chin, you can also say you’re chinning.

Example sentences

• Robert scratched his chin.


• Everyone in gym class had to chin the bar.


• How many chin-ups can you do?


• The men spent the evening chinning in the bar.


• Joanne chinned the violin and began to play.