2 N‑COUNT [usu pl, usu with poss] The findings of a court are the decisions that it reaches after a trial or an investigation. □ The government hopes the court will announce its findings before the end of the month.
fine
➊ ADJECTIVE USES
➋ PUNISHMENT
➊ fine ◆◆◇ /fa I n/ (finer , finest )
1 ADJ [usu ADJ n] You use fine to describe something that you admire and think is very good. □ There is a fine view of the countryside. □ This is a fine book. □ …London's finest art deco cinema. ● fine|ly ADV [ADV -ed] □ They are finely engineered boats.
2 ADJ [v-link ADJ ] If you say that you are fine , you mean that you are in good health or reasonably happy. □ Lina is fine and sends you her love and best wishes.
3 ADJ [usu v-link ADJ ] If you say that something is fine , you mean that it is satisfactory or acceptable. □ The skiing is fine. □ Everything was going to be just fine. □ It's fine to ask questions as we go along, but it's better if you wait until we have finished. ● ADV Fine is also an adverb. □ All the instruments are working fine.
4 CONVENTION You say ' fine ' or ' that's fine ' to show that you do not object to an arrangement, action, or situation that has been suggested. [FORMULAE ] □ If competition is the best way to achieve it, then, fine. □ If you don't want to give it to me, that's fine, I don't mind.
5 ADJ [usu ADJ n] Something that is fine is very delicate, narrow, or small. □ The heat scorched the fine hairs on her arms. ● fine|ly ADV [ADV with v] □ Chop the ingredients finely and mix them together.
6 ADJ [usu ADJ n] Fine objects or clothing are of good quality, delicate, and expensive. □ We waited in our fine clothes.
7 ADJ [usu ADJ n] A fine detail or distinction is very delicate, small, or exact. □ The market likes the broad outline but is reserving judgment on the fine detail. ● fine|ly ADV [usu ADV -ed, oft ADV after v] □ They had to take the finely balanced decision to let the visit proceed. ● fine|ness N‑UNCOUNT □ [+ of ] …a sense of quality and fineness of detail.
8 ADJ [usu ADJ n] A fine person is someone you consider good, moral, and worth admiring. [APPROVAL ] □ He was an excellent journalist and a very fine man.
9 ADJ When the weather is fine , the sun is shining and it is not raining. □ He might be doing a spot of gardening if the weather is fine.
➋ fine ◆◇◇ /fa I n/ (fines , fining , fined )
1 N‑COUNT A fine is a punishment in which a person is ordered to pay a sum of money because they have done something illegal or broken a rule.
2 VERB If someone is fined , they are punished by being ordered to pay a sum of money because they have done something illegal or broken a rule. □ [be V -ed] She was fined £300 and banned from driving for one month. □ [V n] This school has set a precedent by fining pupils who break the rules. COLLOCATIONS fine NOUN ➋1
noun + fine : parking, speeding, traffic; library
adjective + fine : heavy, hefty, maximum; unpaid
verb + fine : impose, issue; face, pay, receive SYNONYMS fine ADJ
➊2
healthy: We need to lead more balanced lives to be healthy and happy.
welclass="underline" I'm not very well today, I can't come in.
fit: An averagely fit person can master easy ski runs within a few days.
➊ 3
satisfactory: I never got a satisfactory answer.
all right: 'How was school?'—'It was all right.'
okay: I guess for a fashionable restaurant like this the prices are okay.
fi ne a rt (fine arts )
1 N‑VAR Painting and sculpture, in which objects are produced that are beautiful rather than useful, can be referred to as fine art or as the fine arts . □ He deals in antiques and fine art. □ …the university of Cairo's faculty of fine arts.
2 PHRASE If you have got something down to a fine art , you are able to do it in a very skilful or efficient way because you have had a lot of experience of doing it.
fi ne pri nt N‑UNCOUNT In a contract or agreement, the fine print is the same as the small print .
fin|ery /fa I nəri/ N‑UNCOUNT If someone is dressed in their finery , they are wearing the elegant and impressive clothes and jewellery that they wear on special occasions. [LITERARY ] □ …the guests in all their finery.
fi|nesse /f I ne s/ N‑UNCOUNT If you do something with finesse , you do it with great skill and style. □ …handling momentous diplomatic challenges with tact and finesse.
fi ne-too th comb also fine tooth comb PHRASE If you say that you will go over something with a fine-tooth comb or go through something with a fine-tooth comb , you are emphasizing that you will search it thoroughly or examine it very carefully. [EMPHASIS ]
fi ne-tu ne (fine-tunes , fine-tuning , fine-tuned ) VERB If you fine-tune something, you make very small and precise changes to it in order to make it as successful or effective as it possibly can be. □ [V n] We do not try to fine-tune the economy on the basis of short-term predictions. ● fine-tuning N‑UNCOUNT □ There's a lot of fine-tuning to be done yet.