grin

1 of 2

verb

grinned; grinning

intransitive verb

: to draw back the lips so as to show the teeth especially in amusement or laughter
broadly : smile
grinning from ear to ear
grinner noun
grinningly adverb

grin

2 of 2

noun

plural grins
: a facial expression produced by grinning especially in pleasure or amusement
a happy grin
She grew into a nimble young girl of seven winters, a thoughtful girl with shining brown eyes and a wide grinLouise Erdrich
I wanted to wipe the grin off his face [=make him stop smiling.]

Examples of grin in a Sentence

Verb She continued to tease her brother, grinning wickedly. grinned at the kids' fooling around in the pool
Recent Examples on the Web
Verb
The host grinned with gratitude before turning his eyes to see the delivery of the Best Supporting Actor category on a screen in the middle of the lounge. Elizabeth Taylor, Variety, 11 Mar. 2024 Warren admits some losses still sting, but all those years of grinning stoically as other songwriters leaped to the podium to claim a statuette have at least taught her to change her perspective and temper her expectations. Tyler Coates, The Hollywood Reporter, 9 Mar. 2024 De León did his interview, grinning and gesturing with no worry in the world. Gustavo Arellano, Los Angeles Times, 6 Mar. 2024 In a photo of the trio — which Paris shared on her Instagram Story — both Paul, 81, and Paris, 25, smiled softly at the camera, while Starr, 83, grinned widely and flashed his signature peace sign. Bailey Richards, Peoplemag, 4 Mar. 2024 Ty pauses and turns to her sister, who grins and shakes her head. Brian Haenchen, The Indianapolis Star, 26 Jan. 2024 The moment itself was comical, with Ohtani sheepishly grinning as Smith, manager Dave Roberts and special assistant Ron Roenicke laughed in amazement nearby. Jack Harris, Los Angeles Times, 26 Feb. 2024 Barrymore grinned ear-to-ear the entire ride, waving out the window while the Wienermobile’s jingle horn played the Oscar Mayer theme song aloud. Sabrina Weiss, Peoplemag, 22 Feb. 2024 Enfield grinned after the game, when asked for the morbidity of his thoughts in the moment. Luca Evans, Orange County Register, 16 Feb. 2024
Noun
Today, Lenker’s grin twinkles with a permanent gold replacement. Jeremy Gordon, New York Times, 11 Mar. 2024 The next five chapters take Dick’s story at face value, with no more fourth-wall-breaking grins or revisionist pamphlet scripts. Angie Han, The Hollywood Reporter, 1 Mar. 2024 No masks left on, Hilton’s never forced into a grin and the young women, never nudged to diminish their vibrant and hopeful glimpses ahead. Holly Jones, Variety, 14 Feb. 2024 Meanwhile, Bree, in a backwards-facing blue and white baseball cap, grins while seemingly taking in the competition. Natalia Senanayake, Peoplemag, 29 Feb. 2024 From a lemon shark sharing a toothy grin at dusk, to a green-blue mahi-mahi ambushing sardines, the 2024 Underwater Photographer of the Year (UPY) Awards showcase the stunning beauty and diversity of our world’s oceans. Christian Thorsberg, Smithsonian Magazine, 23 Feb. 2024 There’s a disquiet to the way the teenage Foster grins slightly, cocks one eyebrow, swallows hard. Jordan Kisner, The Atlantic, 18 Feb. 2024 The Spider-Man: Beyond the Spider-Verse voice actor was a shining star at the event thanks to his mega-watt grin. Essence, 8 Jan. 2024 Whether Hirayama displays a small, shy smile or a slightly larger grin speaks volumes. David Fear, Rolling Stone, 7 Feb. 2024

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'grin.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

Word History

Etymology

Verb

Middle English grennen, from Old English grennian; akin to Old High German grennen to snarl

First Known Use

Verb

before the 12th century, in the meaning defined above

Noun

1565, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler
The first known use of grin was before the 12th century

Dictionary Entries Near grin

Cite this Entry

“Grin.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/grin. Accessed 28 Mar. 2024.

Kids Definition

grin

verb
grinned; grinning
: to draw back the lips so as to show the teeth especially in laughter
grin noun

More from Merriam-Webster on grin

Last Updated: - Updated example sentences
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