thin out
When things become fewer, or when you spread something out so there is less of it in one place.
Meanings
(Intransitive) Of a crowd, group, or density: to become smaller or less concentrated.
"After midnight, the crowd at the festival began to thin out."
(Transitive) In gardening: to remove some plants or seedlings so that others have more space to grow.
"You should thin out the seedlings once they reach about five centimetres tall."
(Transitive) To dilute or reduce the thickness of a liquid or substance.
"Add a little water to thin out the paint before applying it."
Used both intransitively (the crowd thinned out) and transitively (thin out the seedlings / thin out a sauce). Common in gardening, cooking, and crowd/traffic contexts.
Commonly used with
Forms
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