L. The press corps had thinned out by then, and a succession of anonymous engineers took to the lectern.

NEWYORKER: The Martian Chroniclers

The lack of water has apparently thinned out the population a bit, leading Shade to invest in some imaginary friends.

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Well, most of those flights have thinned out, and some of the domestic flights and those into Europe have been cancelled.

NPR: The Scene at London's Heathrow Airport

If we ban every book written before the world became as politically correct as it is today that someone finds offensive, our classics section will be rather thinned out.

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Determined to run at least a little of the course, I started as I knew I wouldn't be able to go on for long, jogging until the crowd thinned out and I could take up the brisk walking pace I hoped would get me back to the stadium before the street cleaners moved in to sweep the course.

CNN: Crossing the Olympic finish line

Taking away the thinned-out material is difficult, and sloppy thinning can increase the risk of fire by leaving dry branches and leaves on the forest floor.

ECONOMIST: The fires return