yarn

CEFRB1

/jɑːn/

noun

Türkçe translations

Translating…

In plain English

  1. 01

    noun

    Thread used for knitting or weaving.

  2. 02

    noun

    A long, amusing story, often not completely true.

Examples

  • The baby tangled the ball of yarn.

  • The kitten rolled the yarn across the floor.

At a glance

Sits at B1 on the CEFR scale

Senses
5
Parts of speech
1
Citations
5
Synonyms
2

Deep Dive

noun

Extra meanings

  1. A story, a tale, especially one that is incredible.

  2. Bundles of fibres twisted together, and which in turn are twisted in bundles to form strands, which in their turn are twisted or plaited to form rope.

  3. A twisted strand of fibre used for knitting or weaving.

More examples

In context

  • That's just a yarn.

  • 1935, Christopher Isherwood, Mr Norris Changes Trains (U.S. title: The Last of Mr Norris), Chapter Thirteen, in The Berlin Stories, New York: New Directions, 1963, p. 152, “Well, well!” exclaimed Mr. van Hoorn. “Here are the boys! As hungry as hunters, I’ll b...

  • "I'm hanged if I know how you've got the immortal rind to come at me with a yarn like this."

Synonyms

Quick test

Two questions on this entry. Nothing is scored.

Question 1 · Quick check

She bought colorful blank to knit a warm sweater for her baby.

Practise this properly in the app, where the word comes back before you forget it.

Nearby

Origin

noun

From Middle English yarne, ȝern, yarn, from the Old English ġearn (“yarn, spun wool”), from Proto-West Germanic *garn, from Proto-Germanic *garną (“yarn”), from Proto-Indo-European *ǵʰorn-, *ǵʰerH- (“tharm, guts, intestines”). Cognates Akin to West Frisian jern, Dutch garen (“yarn”), German Garn (“yarn”), Danish garn, Swedish garn (“yarn, thread”), Icelandic garn (“yarn”), Latin hernia (“rupture”), Ancient Greek χορδή (khordḗ, “string”), Sanskrit हिर (hira, “band”). Compare also the obsolete doublet garn.