sin
/sɪn/ (bre, ipa) · [sˈɪn] /sɪn/ (ame, ipa) · [sˈɪn] /ˈsin/ (ame, mw)
sin — noun
- sinsingular
- sinsplural
1. An act that breaks a rule taught by a religion or a widely accepted moral princi
An act that breaks a rule taught by a religion or a widely accepted moral principle, believed to offend God or damage a person's relationship with God — for instance, lying, stealing, or deliberately hurting another person.
Ada confessed her sin to the priest and promised to make things right.
confess + sin; followed by to + person
Hari believes that harming another person is a sin against God's teachings.
sin against + belief system
For some religions, failing to give food to the poor counts as a serious sin.
The seven deadly sins have been discussed by Christian writers for many centuries.
Élise asked whether holding a grudge counts as a sin within her faith.
- transgression
more formal; can be legal, social, or religious
- wrongdoing
broader; covers any bad act without religious framing
- offence
can be legal or moral; less religious than sin
用法筆記
Frequently used with commit, confess, or forgive as the verb. The phrase original sin refers to the first sin of Adam and Eve in the Christian tradition.
常見錯誤
2. The ways a person uses their body for physical pleasure, especially sexual activ
The ways a person uses their body for physical pleasure, especially sexual activity, that a religion considers morally wrong or shameful.
The old teachings describe the sin of lust as a fire that consumes the spirit.
sin of + [desire/quality]
Élise read that certain bodily pleasures were called sins by early church leaders.
passive: were called sins by
In the novel, the young woman struggles between love and what her religion calls sin.
Hao's grandfather said that close dancing was treated as a sin in his youth.
- carnal sin
specifically about physical, bodily desires; formal or religious
- impurity
a gentler, more general term for sexual wrongdoing in religious contexts
- chastity
the state of avoiding sexual activity considered wrong
用法筆記
Often appears in the fixed phrase sin of the flesh or sins of the body. This sense is mostly found in historical, literary, or theological contexts rather than everyday speech.
3. A personal nine-digit number given by the Canadian government to citizens and pe
A personal nine-digit number given by the Canadian government to citizens and permanent residents, used for tax reporting, employment records, and accessing government benefits.
Christopher checked his SIN before filling out the online tax form.
Employers in Canada must ask for your SIN when you start a new job.
required when starting a job in Canada
Imani keeps a record of her SIN in a locked drawer.
When Hari filed his taxes, he needed to provide his SIN on the form.
- Social Insurance Number
the full form of the abbreviation SIN
用法筆記
Always written in capital letters as SIN (not lowercase). This abbreviation is specific to Canada — other countries use different terms such as Social Security Number (SSN) in the United States or National Insurance Number (NI) in the United Kingdom.
常見錯誤
4. An action that most people in a community would describe as terrible, shameful,
An action that most people in a community would describe as terrible, shameful, or morally unacceptable, even when no religious rule is broken.
Wasting food while others go hungry is a sin, said Iker's mother.
collocation: (it) is a sin + to-infinitive / gerund
The team thought it was a sin to spend so much money on office decorations.
Ada feels that ignoring a friend who is in need is a terrible sin.
In his neighbourhood, not helping an elderly neighbour was considered a sin.
用法筆記
Used in everyday conversation to express strong disapproval. Unlike sense 1, this sense does not require a religious framework — it reflects social or personal moral judgment.
sin — verb
- sinpresent simple I / you / we / they
- sins3rd person singular
- sinning-ing form
- sinnedpast simple
1. To commit an act that goes against the rules of a faith or against what a commun
To commit an act that goes against the rules of a faith or against what a community believes is right, especially in the eyes of God.
Christopher confessed that he had sinned by lying to his parents.
sin + by + -ing: describes the specific wrong action
The old man believed he had sinned and needed to ask for forgiveness.
Vikram sinned when he blamed his sister for the vase he had broken.
Hao felt he had sinned against his family by not visiting his sick grandmother.
The preacher urged the crowd to reflect on how they sin in their daily lives.
- transgress
more formal; used in legal and religious writing
- offend
softer; can be against a person or a rule
- do wrong
everyday language; less religious
文法句型
sin + by + -ing
sin + against + noun
用法筆記
Intransitive only — you cannot sin something (e.g. ❌ 'He sinned a lie'). Use the pattern sin by + -ing to specify the action, or sin against + noun to name who or what is wronged.
常見錯誤
sin — abbreviation
1. A short form of sine — a mathematical function that gives the ratio of the lengt
A short form of sine — a mathematical function that gives the ratio of the length of the side opposite an angle to the length of the longest side (the hypotenuse) in a right-angled triangle.
In trigonometry class, the teacher wrote sin 30° = 0.5 on the board.
abbreviation used in formula
Iker used the sin button on his calculator to find the missing side length.
The value of sin 90° is 1, which students memorise in their maths lessons.
When Caio checked his maths homework, he calculated the sin of each angle carefully.
- sine
the full form of the abbreviation
- cosine (cos)
the complementary trigonometric function
- tangent (tan)
another related trigonometric function
用法筆記
This abbreviation has no connection to the moral or religious word sin — it comes from Latin sinus (curve or fold). In mathematical writing, sin is usually printed in lowercase roman type: sin, not SIN.