Other forms: linings
A lining is the smooth second layer sewn inside a coat so it slides on and keeps its shape. Silk inside a suit jacket, quilted nylon inside a winter parka, the slippery fabric your arm goes down.
Lining goes wherever there is an inner surface: the lining of the stomach, the lining of the womb, the brake linings in a car, the foil lining of a crisp packet. The verb behind it is line — you line a coat with fleece, line a cake tin with baking paper, line a drawer with newspaper. A coat with no lining is unlined, which is why summer jackets hang so light. Fur-lined, fleece-lined and rubber-lined all work the same way. And the use most people meet first is the proverb: every cloud has a silver lining, the good part hidden inside a bad situation.
1nounliningA layer of material fixed to the inside of a garment, bag or box.
“The lining of his jacket had torn along the shoulder seam.”
2nounorganThe inner surface of an organ or hollow part of the body.
“Too much aspirin irritates the lining of the stomach.”
3nounprotectiveA protective inner layer inside a machine or container.
“The brake linings were worn down to the metal.”
lining is an inner layer.