1. [from Unix's lint(1), named for the bits of fluff it supposedly picks from programs] 1. vt. To examine a program closely for style, language usage, and portability problems, esp. if in C, esp. if via use of automated analysis tools, most esp. if the Unix utility lint(1) is used. This term used to be restricted to use of lint(1) itself, but (judging by references on Usenet) it has become a shorthand for desk check at some non-Unix shops, even in languages other than C. Also as v. delint. 2. n. Excess verbiage in a document, as in "This draft has too much lint". From Jargon Dictionary