tine

IPA/taɪn/
KK[tˈaɪn]IPA/taɪn/

tine — noun

  • tinesingular
  • tinesplural

1. any of the long, narrow, pointed pieces sticking out from the working end of a t

1.nounC2
Definition

any of the long, narrow, pointed pieces sticking out from the working end of a tool — most commonly a kitchen fork, a hair comb, a rake, or a pitchfork — used to spear food, separate hair, or move loose material

Example

One tine of Christopher's dinner fork had bent against the edge of his plate.

collocation: tine of a fork

Dahlia ran her finger along the tines of the wooden comb to check for broken ones.

plural: tines of a comb

Common collocations
  • bent tine
  • tine of a fork
  • tines of a comb
  • sharp tine
Synonyms
  • prong

    everyday synonym; tine is the more technical term used by lexicographers and tool catalogues

  • spike

    broader; any sharp pointed piece, not limited to tools

Grammar Patterns

tine of [object]

Usage Note

Almost always countable, and frequently plural ('tines') when describing a whole tool. Common subjects/objects: forks, combs, pitchforks, rakes, harrows.

Common Mistakes

The fork has four tooths.
The fork has four tines.
for forks, combs, and rakes, the pointed parts are called tines, not teeth or tooths.

2. a single sharp point that branches off from the main shaft of a deer's antler; h

2.nounC2
Definition

a single sharp point that branches off from the main shaft of a deer's antler; hunters and biologists count these to estimate the animal's age

Example

The old stag in the forest reserve had ten tines on each antler, marking him as a mature buck.

plural: tines on an antler

Zola counted the tines on the elk antler hanging above the cabin door and reached fourteen.

collocation: count the tines

Common collocations
  • tine of an antler
  • antler tine
  • broken tine
  • count the tines
Synonyms
  • point

    informal hunting term; 'a ten-point buck' means a deer with ten antler tines

  • snag

    regional hunting term for an unbranched antler tine

Grammar Patterns

tine of [an antler]

Usage Note

Distinguish from sense 1: this is the antler-specific use. Common in hunting, conservation, and wildlife-biology writing rather than everyday speech.

Common Mistakes

The deer had twelve branches on its antlers.
The deer had twelve tines on its antlers.
branches refers to woody plants, not the points on an antler.

Word family

  • tined
    adjectiveC2

Synonym discussion

Sense: noun/1

These four words all describe sharp pointed projections, but they belong to different registers. 'Tine' is the technical name preferred by dictionaries and tool catalogues for the pointed parts of forks, combs, rakes, and harrows; in everyday speech, most people simply say 'prong' instead. 'Prong' is the broader, more conversational equivalent — you can talk about the prongs of a fork, the prongs of an electric plug, or even the prongs of an attack. 'Spike' implies something longer and sharper, often dangerous: a spike on a railing or a sports shoe. 'Point' is the most general of the four and refers to the very tip rather than the whole projecting piece. For example, a kitchen fork has four tines, each of which ends in a sharp point.

tine ↗prongspike ↗point ↗

Common collocations

Nouns

Phrases

  • broken tine
  • bent tine
  • sharp tine

Prepositions

  • tine of
  • tine on

Etymology

Proto-GermanicOld EnglishMiddle EnglishEnglish

Comes from Old English 'tind', meaning a spike or prong. The same root survives in other Germanic languages — German 'Zinne' (a battlement merlon or peak) shares the same ancestor. The word originally covered any pointed projection but narrowed over time to the prongs of tools and the points of antlers.

First known use

12th century

12th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1 Verb