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
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Verb
One throwback photo showed Jennifer, 28, dressed up as Snow White as her dad manned the crafts table, while a more recent father-daughter image showed the pair grinning while showing off their costumes. Raven Brunner, People.com, 28 Oct. 2024 That goes for fictional pop stars too — especially ones haunted by grinning demons. Christian Zilko, IndieWire, 26 Oct. 2024
Noun
His irreverent sense of humor — delivered amid expletives and with a childlike grin that belies his 61 years — seems to have carried him through the relentless five years of work. Thomas Adamson, Los Angeles Times, 6 Dec. 2024 Among the creepy smiles Scott got to see making Smile 2 was the indelible creepy grin of Ray Nicholson, whose demented look in a particularly haunting scene hearkens to the smile of his iconic father, Jack Nicholson, in the horror film classic The Shining. Tim Lammers, Forbes, 2 Dec. 2024 See all Example Sentences for grin 

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 18 Dec. 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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