# fin

> English word · Noun · IPA /fɪn/ · frequency rank #11,210

## Definitions
1. One of the appendages of a fish, used to propel itself and to manoeuvre/maneuver.
2. A similar appendage of a cetacean or other marine animal.
3. A thin, rigid component of an aircraft, extending from the fuselage and used to stabilise and steer the aircraft.
4. A similar structure protruding from a projectile, used to help keep it on course.
5. A similar structure on the bottom of a surfboard, used to help steer it.
6. A hairstyle, resembling the fin of a fish, in which the hair is combed and set into a vertical ridge along the top of the head from about the crown to the forehead.
7. A device worn by divers and swimmers on their feet.
8. An extending part on a surface of a radiator, engine, heatsink, etc., used to facilitate cooling.
9. A sharp raised edge (generally in concrete) capable of damaging a roof membrane or vapor retarder.
10. The conning tower of a submarine.
11. A person's hand.

## Etymology
From Middle English fin, from Old English finn, from Proto-Germanic *finnō, *finǭ (“dorsal fin”) (compare Dutch vin, German Finne, Swedish finne, fena), from Proto-Indo-European *(s)pīn- (“backbone, dorsal fin”) (compare Old Irish ind (“end, point”), Latin pinna (“feather, wing, fin”), Tocharian A spin (“hook”).

## Easily confused with
- **FL** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/fin-vs-fl)
- **FM** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/fin-vs-fm)
- **fu** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/fin-vs-fu)
- **fo** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/fin-vs-fo)
- **FS** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/fin-vs-fs)
- **FN** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/fin-vs-fn)
- **FP** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/fin-vs-fp)
- **FW** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/fin-vs-fw)
- **fy** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/fin-vs-fy)
- **for** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/fin-vs-for)
- **fun** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/fin-vs-fun)
- **fit** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/fin-vs-fit)
- **fix** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/fin-vs-fix)
- **fly** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/fin-vs-fly)
- **fox** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/fin-vs-fox)
- **fur** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/fin-vs-fur)
- **flu** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/fin-vs-flu)
- **fog** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/fin-vs-fog)
- **fry** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/fin-vs-fry)
- **FLA** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/fin-vs-fla)

## Source
Compiled from Wiktionary via kaikki.org (CC BY-SA). Data vintage: 2026-05-06.
Canonical page: https://plainspell.com/en/word/fin