(superl.) Not coarse; comminuted; in small particles; as, fine sand or flour.
(superl.) Not thick or heavy; slender; filmy; as, a fine thread.
(superl.) Thin; attenuate; keen; as, a fine edge.
(superl.) Made of fine materials; light; delicate; as, fine linen or silk.
(superl.) Having (such) a proportion of pure metal in its composition; as, coins nine tenths fine.
(superl.) (Used ironically.)
(a.) To make fine; to refine; to purify, to clarify; as, to fine gold.
(a.) To make finer, or less coarse, as in bulk, texture, etc.; as. to fine the soil.
(a.) To change by fine gradations; as (Naut.), to fine down a ship's lines, to diminish her lines gradually.
(n.) End; conclusion; termination; extinction.
(n.) A sum of money paid as the settlement of a claim, or by way of terminating a matter in dispute; especially, a payment of money imposed upon a party as a punishment for an offense; a mulct.
(n.) A final agreement concerning lands or rents between persons, as the lord and his vassal.
(n.) A sum of money or price paid for obtaining a benefit, favor, or privilege, as for admission to a copyhold, or for obtaining or renewing a lease.
(n.) To impose a pecuniary penalty upon for an offense or breach of law; to set a fine on by judgment of a court; to punish by fine; to mulct; as, the trespassers were fined ten dollars.
(v. i.) To pay a fine. See Fine, n., 3 (b).
(v. t.) To finish; to cease; or to cause to cease.
Example Sentences:
(1) The fine structure of neurofibrillary tangles in the hippocampal gyrus, substantia nigra, pontine nuclei and locus coeruleus of the brain was postmortem studied in a case of progressive supranuclear palsy.
(2) As a group, the three mammalian proteins resemble bovine serum conglutinin and behave as lectins with rather broad sugar specificities directed at certain non-reducing terminal N-acetylglucosamine, mannose, glucose and fucose residues, but with subtle differences in fine specificities.
(3) On the way back to Pristina later, the lawyer told me everything was fine.
(4) The move would require some secondary legislation; higher fines for employers paying less than the minimum wage would require new primary legislation.
(5) The surface of all cells was covered by a fuzzy coat consisting of fine hairs or bristles.
(6) The fine needle aspiration cytology features of twelve peripherally located bronchioloalveolar cell carcinomas of the lung diagnosed by fine needle aspiration biopsy are described.
(7) Recognition of this deficiency in our knowledge spurred a belated explosion of research that began with an exploration of the fine structure of the mesothelium.
(8) There were pronounced differences from the fine structural aspects in late infantile cases.
(9) TCR beta chain gene expression of individual T cell clones that share the same MHC class II restriction and similar fine specificity for the encephalitogenic NH2 terminus of the autoantigen myelin basic protein (MBP) has been examined.
(10) The use of sigma 54 promoters, known to require cognate binding proteins, could allow the fine-tuning that provides the temporal ordering of flagellar gene transcription.
(11) While there has been almost no political reform during their terms of office, there have been several ambitious steps forward in terms of environmental policy: anti-desertification campaigns; tree planting; an environmental transparency law; adoption of carbon targets; eco-services compensation; eco accounting; caps on water; lower economic growth targets; the 12th Five-Year Plan; debate and increased monitoring of PM2.5 [fine particulate matter] and huge investments in eco-cities, "clean car" manufacturing, public transport, energy-saving devices and renewable technology.
(12) That, however, is reserved for the most serious cases and the indications are that a fine is the likely outcome.
(13) These findings in a patient with acute leukaemia are strongly suspicious of fungal infection, and percutaneous fine-needle aspiration under ultrasound or computed tomography-guidance is indicated.
(14) Any MP who claims this is not statutory regulation is a liar, and should be forced to retract and apologise, or face a million pound fine.
(15) There’s a fine line between pushing them to their limits and avoiding injury, and Alberto is a master at it.
(16) While circulating the quarries is illegal – you risk a fine of up to €60 – neither the IGC nor the police seem to mind the veteran cataphiles who possess a good knowledge of the underground space, and who respect their heritage.
(17) No differences in cell fine structure or in growth factor requirements for cell proliferation were noted between normal and CF cells.
(18) of complete tryptic digests of the IRBPs indicate that, although they have in common a similar preponderance of hydrophobic peptides, all three proteins differ extensively in their fine structure.
(19) Failure to meet these deadlines, and others listed in the judgement, face a daily fine of 150,000 reais.
(20) Nuclear DNA distribution in fine-needle specimens from 112 breast carcinomas and 45 prostatic tumours was studied.
Hairsplitting
Definition:
(a.) Making excessively nice or trivial distinctions in reasoning; subtle.
(n.) The act or practice of making trivial distinctions.