(of a person or animal) slim; not fleshy.
(of meat) having little fat.
Example: "Lean steak cuts"
Having little extra or little to spare; scanty; meagre.
Example: "A lean budget"
Having a low proportion or concentration of a desired substance or ingredient.
Example: "A lean ore hardly worth mining."
Of a character which prevents the compositor from earning the usual wages; opposed to fat.
Example: "Lean copy, matter, or type"
Efficient, economic, frugal, agile, slimmed-down; pertaining to the modern industrial principles of "lean manufacturing"
Example: "Alcoa is now a lean and agile enterprise, after having split last year into two entities."