lint
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lint¹
- /lɪnt/
Sounds like lent, Lent, leant (pin–pen merger) · Rhymes with -ɪnt
Where it comes from
From Middle English lynet, linet, from Old French linette (“grain of flax”), diminutive of lin (“flax”); or, from Medieval Latin linteum, from Latin līnum (“flax”).
noun lints
- Clinging fuzzy fluff that clings to fabric or accumulates in one's pockets or navel etc. Clean the lint out of the vacuum cleaner's filter.
- A fine material made by scraping cotton or linen cloth; used for dressing wounds.
- The fibrous coat of thick hairs covering the seeds of the cotton plant.
- Raw cotton ready for baling.
lint²
Where it comes from
From the lint Unix utility, written in 1979, which analyses programs written in the C language, itself named after the undesirable bits of fiber and fluff found in sheep's wool (see etymology 1).
verb lints · linting · linted
- To perform a static check on (source code) to detect stylistic or programmatic errors. You should lint your JavaScript code before committing it.
Lint³
Where it comes from
* As an occupational English surname, from the noun lint, chiefly in the Scottish English sense "flax fibers for spinning."
* As a Dutch surname, from several placenames with the element Lint, probably from linde (“lime tree”).
proper noun Lints
- A surname.
Thesaurus
Closest in meaning: fiber, fuzz, fluff, fluffy, stuffed, doll, poetry, fibre, fuzzy, lustrine, dowle, clinging vine, gossamer, clinquant, fluffball, flittering
Translations
Every language
noun fuzzy fluff
| Español | pelusa, tamo, flojel, flojuelo |
|---|---|
| 日本語 | 糸屑 itokuzu, 綿埃 watabokori, [navel lint:] 臍の胡麻 heso no goma |
| 中文 | 絨毛 /绒毛 róngmáo |
| Português | cotão |
| Français | peluche, mouton |
| Deutsch | Fussel, Fluse |
| Italiano | lanugine |
| Română | scamă |
| Русский | ворси́нка vorsínka, пух pux |
Talk about this word "lint." Wiktionary, via Micwyn, micwyn.com/word/lint. Accessed 6 Nov. 2026. lint. (n.d.). In Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Retrieved November 6, 2026, from https://micwyn.com/word/lint "lint." Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Accessed November 6, 2026. https://micwyn.com/word/lint.Cite this
@misc{lint_2026,
title = {lint},
howpublished = {Wiktionary, via Micwyn},
year = {2026},
url = {https://micwyn.com/word/lint},
urldate = {2026-11-06}
}
