fine
(adjective, noun, verb)
past tense: fined
LISTEN
He got a parking fine.
If someone is fine, it means that they are well, and that they don’t have any problems.
- “How are you?” “I’m fine. How are you?”
If something is fine, it means that it’s OK, and that it isn’t a problem for you.
- “Is it OK if I come at 8pm?” “Yeah, that’s fine.”
A fine is something that you have to pay when you do something that you shouldn’t do.
- The police gave him a fine because he was driving too fast.
If someone fines you, it means that you have to pay them some money.
- The library fined me because I lost one of its books.
Common uses
When we have to do something, and we’re not happy about it, we often say, “Fine!” For example, “I don’t want to tell her she’s wrong.” “Fine, I’ll do it!”
Did you know?
Fine can also mean that something is very good. The classic American love song “One Fine Day” is about one very good day when the man that the singer loves will love her; she sings “you’re gonna [going to] want me for your girl”; this means that, one fine day, he will want her to be his girlfriend. Here is a version with lyrics.
Here is the original version by The Chiffons.
There are other meanings of fine.
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