Library / English Dictionary

YARN

Pronunciation (US):

(GB):

 I. (noun) 

Sense 1

Meaning:

A fine cord of twisted fibers (of cotton or silk or wool or nylon etc.) used in sewing and weaving

Synonyms:

thread; yarn

Classified under:

Nouns denoting man-made objects

Hypernyms ("yarn" is a kind of...):

cord (a line made of twisted fibers or threads)

Hyponyms (each of the following is a kind of "yarn"):

cotton (thread made of cotton fibers)

dental floss; floss (a soft thread for cleaning the spaces between the teeth)

floss (a soft loosely twisted thread used in embroidery)

Lastex (yarn that has an elastic core wound around with cotton or silk or nylon or rayon threads)

ligature (thread used by surgeons to bind a vessel (as to constrict the flow of blood))

metallic (a yarn made partly or entirely of metal)

nap; pile (the yarn (as in a rug or velvet or corduroy) that stands up from the weave)

purl (gold or silver wire thread)

suture (thread of catgut or silk or wire used by surgeons to stitch tissues together)

tinsel (a thread with glittering metal foil attached)

warp (yarn arranged lengthways on a loom and crossed by the woof)

filling; pick; weft; woof (the yarn woven across the warp yarn in weaving)

worsted; worsted yarn (a tightly twisted woolen yarn spun from long-staple wool)

Sense 2

Meaning:

The act of giving an account describing incidents or a course of events

Example:

his narration was hesitant

Synonyms:

narration; recital; yarn

Classified under:

Nouns denoting communicative processes and contents

Hypernyms ("yarn" is a kind of...):

account; report (the act of informing by verbal report)

Meronyms (parts of "yarn"):

body (the central message of a communication)

introduction (the first section of a communication)

close; closing; conclusion; end; ending (the last section of a communication)

Hyponyms (each of the following is a kind of "yarn"):

recounting; relation; telling (an act of narration)

Derivation:

yarn (tell or spin a yarn)

 II. (verb) 

Sense 1

Meaning:

Tell or spin a yarn

Classified under:

Verbs of telling, asking, ordering, singing

Hypernyms (to "yarn" is one way to...):

narrate; recite; recount; tell (narrate or give a detailed account of)

Sentence frame:

Somebody ----s

Derivation:

yarn (the act of giving an account describing incidents or a course of events)

Credits

 Context examples: 

Then, doctor, said Silver, you just step outside o' that stockade, and once you're there I'll bring the boy down on the inside, and I reckon you can yarn through the spars.

(Treasure Island, by Robert Louis Stevenson)

The researchers first twist-spun the nanotubes into high-strength, lightweight yarns.

(Energy-Harvesting Yarns Generate Electricity, The Titi Tudorancea Bulletin)

Maybe you think I am just slinging you a yarn.

(The Return of Sherlock Holmes, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle)

But this tops the stiffest yarn to nothing.

(Treasure Island, by Robert Louis Stevenson)

This increases the voltage associated with the charge stored in the yarn, enabling the harvesting of electricity.

(Energy-Harvesting Yarns Generate Electricity, The Titi Tudorancea Bulletin)

The yarns are constructed from carbon nanotubes, which are hollow cylinders of carbon 10,000 times smaller in diameter than a human hair.

(Energy-Harvesting Yarns Generate Electricity, The Titi Tudorancea Bulletin)

When sewn into a shirt, these yarns served as a self-powered breathing monitor.

(Energy-Harvesting Yarns Generate Electricity, The Titi Tudorancea Bulletin)

'Twistron' yarns have many possible applications, such as harvesting energy from the motion of ocean waves or from temperature fluctuations.

(Energy-Harvesting Yarns Generate Electricity, The Titi Tudorancea Bulletin)

When a harvester yarn is twisted or stretched, the volume of the carbon nanotube yarn decreases, bringing the electric charges on the yarn closer together and increasing their energy, Haines said.

(Energy-Harvesting Yarns Generate Electricity, The Titi Tudorancea Bulletin)

Scientists from The University of Texas at Dallas and Hanyang University in South Korea developed high-tech yarns that generate electricity when they are stretched or twisted.

(Energy-Harvesting Yarns Generate Electricity, The Titi Tudorancea Bulletin)