Meaning & use
pines
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“pines” is a form of “pine”. See that entry for the full set of meanings.
Meanings
nouncountable
Evergreen trees with needle-shaped leaves and cones; also the soft wood from these trees.
Grammar: Countable: one pine, two pines; the wood itself is uncountable when you talk about the material.
Patterns
- a pine tree
- pine forest
- made of pine
Tall pines lined both sides of the road.
We walked through a forest of pines and firs.
The table is made of pine, so it scratches easily.
verbintransitiveliterary
To feel a strong, sad longing for someone or something you cannot have.
Grammar: No object; it is usually followed by for or after: he pined for his old friends.
Patterns
- pine for someone
- pine for something
- pine after someone
After the move, she pined for her old neighborhood.
He sat by the window, pining after a life he could not have.
verbintransitiveliterary
To become weak, thin, and unhappy because of grief or longing.
Grammar: No object; often used with away: the dog pined away after its owner left.
Patterns
- pine away
- pine away for someone
The old man pined away in the months after his wife died.
Without company, the bird pined and stopped eating.
Word forms
| plural | pines |
|---|---|
| third person singular | pines |
| past tense | pined |
| past participle | pined |
| -ing form | pining |
Common combinations
- pine tree
- A single pine tree stood at the top of the hill.
- pine forest
- The fire spread quickly through the dry pine forest.
- pine for something
- He still pines for the small town where he grew up.
- pine away
- She pined away after her closest friend moved abroad.
- scent of pine
- The whole room smelled of pine and wood smoke.
Synonyms and how they differ
- long
- Long is the everyday verb and needs for: she longed for a quiet holiday; pine sounds more literary and sorrowful.
- yearn
- Yearn is close in meaning but suggests a deep, almost aching desire, and is also fairly literary.
- miss
- Miss is the normal, neutral word for feeling sad that someone is away; pine is much stronger and more dramatic.
- fir
- A fir is another needle-leaved tree, but its cones stand upright and its needles are flat rather than in bundles.
Word family
Commonly confused: pines or pin? pines or spine?
pines vs pin
Pin is a small sharp piece of metal, or to fasten something; pines are trees or a feeling of longing. The spelling differs by one letter, so check the final e.
pines vs spine
Spine means the row of bones in your back or the edge of a book; it sounds close to pines but means something completely different.
Practice
Which sentence uses "pines" correctly?
Choose one answer.
The verb pine is intransitive and takes for (or after) before the thing you long for, so "pines for" is correct. "Pines the town" wrongly adds a direct object, and "pines to/of" use prepositions that do not go with this verb.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “pines”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.