blink

1 of 2

verb

ˈbliŋk 

blinked; blinking; blinks

intransitive verb

1

a

obsolete : to look glancingly : peep

b

: to look with half-shut eyes

c

: to close and open the eyes involuntarily

2

: to shine dimly or intermittently

3

a

: to look with too little concern

b

: to look with surprise or dismay

4

: yield, give in

each side waiting for the other to blink

transitive verb

1

a

: to cause to blink

b

: to remove (something, such as tears) from the eye by blinking

2

: to deny recognition to

blink

2 of 2

noun

1

chiefly Scotland : glimpse, glance

2

: glimmer, sparkle

3

: a usually involuntary shutting and opening of the eye

4

: iceblink

Phrases

in the blink of an eye

: in an instant

on the blink

: in or into a disabled or useless condition

the TV is on the blink

Synonyms

Verb

• flash
• twinkle
• wink

Examples of blink in a Sentence

Verb

She blinked when the light flashed.

Her eyes blinked when the light flashed.

She blinked her eyes when the light flashed.

Recent Examples on the Web

Verb

An exhibition at the Red Eight Gallery in London is immortalizing the greatest Shakespearean actors of our time through portraits that can blink, breathe and rattle off soliloquies. —Julia Binswanger, Smithsonian Magazine, 20 Dec. 2024

Some lights provide a synchronized spectacle with bulbs that blink to the beat of the music, while others twinkle slowly with thousands of strands in every corner of the house and yard. —Patrick Connolly, Orlando Sentinel, 19 Dec. 2024

Noun

The landscape is changing so quickly that any company that can’t pivot will be left behind in the blink of an eye. —John Werner, Forbes, 23 Dec. 2024

Phil Foden and Bernardo Silva have the ability to flip a game on its head in the blink of an eye. —Oli Gamp, The Athletic, 21 Dec. 2024

Word History

Etymology

Verb

variant of blenk, going back to Middle English blenken "to shine, gleam, turn pale" and "to move suddenly or sharply, change direction, evade, mislead," perhaps going back to Germanic *blinkan-, nasal present based on pre-Germanic *blei̯k-, the base of *blīkan- "to shine" (or, alternatively, if *blenk- is primary, a derivative from the base of *blanka- "bright, white, without color") — more at bleach entry 1, blank entry 1

Note: In Middle English, the verbs blenken and blenchen (see blench entry 1) cannot be easily separated by sense. The variants with -k-, to judge by citations in Middle English Dictionary, are less common, though the preterit bleynte might represent either variant. There are only a few Middle English forms with -i- rather than -e-, two of them from Robert Mannyng of Brunne's Handlyng Synne (in the senses "open the eyes [while waking up]" and "lead astray"); otherwise blink is rare before the seventeenth century. — Middle English blenken is paralleled by Middle Dutch blenken, blinken "to shine," Middle Low German blenken "to shine" (also "to make bright or clean"). The late appearance of these verbs in Germanic, as well as the divergences in meaning, make it difficult to divine the original situation; moreover, the expressive nature of verbs having the do with effects of light (compare, in English, sparkle, twinkle, glitter, etc.) favors multiplication of variants. If -e- is the primary vowel in English and the continental dialects, -i- may be explained as either raising before a nasal or neutralizing of the distinction (as in modern southern American English). The meanings "evade, mislead" can be seen as a causative of "to shine" (by way of a sense "deceive by means of light, bedazzle"). It is harder to explain the merger of presumed causative forms with stative forms, however.

Noun

derivative of blink entry 1

First Known Use

Verb

14th century, in the meaning defined at intransitive sense 1a

Noun

1578, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Phrases Containing blink

• before one can blink
• blink away tears
• blink back tears
• in the blink of an eye
• not (even) blink
• on the blink

Kids Definition

blink

1 of 2 verb

ˈbliŋk 

1

a

: to look with half-shut eyes

b

: to close and open the eyes involuntarily

2

: to wink quickly

blink back tears

3

: to shine with a light that goes or seems to go on and off

streetlights blinking through rain

blink

2 of 2 noun

1

: glimmer sense 1a, sparkle

2

: a shutting and opening of the eyes

Medical Definition

blink

1 of 2 intransitive verb

ˈbliŋk 

: to close and open the eyes involuntarily (as when struggling against drowsiness or when dazzled)

transitive verb

1

: to close and open (the eye) involuntarily

2

: to remove (as tears) from the eye by blinking

blink

2 of 2 noun

: a usually involuntary shutting and opening of the eye