squint

American  

[skwint] / skwɪnt /

verb (used without object)

squints, present (3rd person singular) squinted, past participle, past squinting present participle

1. to look with the eyes partly closed.

2. Ophthalmology. to be affected with strabismus; be cross-eyed.

3. to look or glance obliquely or sidewise; look askance.

4. to make or have an indirect reference to or bearing on; tend or incline toward (usually followed by toward, at, etc.).

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verb (used with object)

squints, present (3rd person singular) squinted, past participle, past squinting present participle

1. to close (the eyes) partly in looking.

   The baby squinted his eyes at the bright lights.

2. to cause to squint; cause to look obliquely.

noun

1. an act or instance of squinting.

2. Ophthalmology. a condition of the eye consisting in noncoincidence of the optic axes; strabismus.

3. Informal. a quick glance.

   Let me have a squint at that paper.

4. a looking obliquely or askance.

5. an indirect reference.

6. an inclination or tendency, especially an oblique or perverse one.

7. Also called hagioscope.  (in a church) a small opening in a wall giving a view of the altar.

adjective

1. looking obliquely; looking with a side glance; looking askance.

2. Ophthalmology. (of the eyes) affected with strabismus.

squint British  

/ skwɪnt /

verb

1. (usually intr) to cross or partly close (the eyes)

2. (intr) to have a squint

3. (intr) to look or glance sideways or askance

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noun

1. the nontechnical name for strabismus

2. the act or an instance of squinting; glimpse

3. Also called: hagioscope.  a narrow oblique opening in a wall or pillar of a church to permit a view of the main altar from a side aisle or transept

4. informal a quick look; glance

adjective

1. having a squint

2. informal crooked; askew

Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• squinter
  noun
• squintingness
  noun
• squinty
  adjective
• unsquinting
  adjective
• squintingly
  adverb

Inflected Forms

Participles

• squinting
  present
• squinted
  past

Conjugated Forms

Present

• squint
  simple
• squints
  simple
• have squinted
  perfect
• has squinted
  perfect
• am squinting
  progressive
• are squinting
  progressive
• is squinting
  progressive
• have been squinting
  perfect progressive
• has been squinting
  perfect progressive

Past

• squinted
  simple
• had squinted
  perfect
• was squinting
  progressive
• were squinting
  progressive
• had been squinting
  perfect progressive

Future

• will squint
  simple
• will have squinted
  perfect
• will be squinting
  progressive
• will have been squinting
  perfect progressive

Etymology

Origin of squint

First recorded in 1350–1400 as an adverb “with a squint; askant,” and 1570–80 for adjective senses; Middle English; variant of asquint

Explanation

You squint when you squeeze your eyes almost shut. If you are trying to see something far away, you will probably squint while you strain your eyes to see more clearly. When the sun shines brilliantly through the car windshield, the driver will squint, or squeeze her eyes almost shut against the bright light. This is probably a good moment for the driver to grab her sunglasses! You'll squint when a light is suddenly turned on in a dark room, and you might also squint when you're trying to read tiny type on a food label or medicine bottle. The expression on your face, and the action of doing this, are both called a squint as well. Squint comes from the now rare adverb asquint, or "from the corner of the eyes."

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

squint squints squinted squinting

In part, that is because, if you squint, you can see its lineage in old-school food criticism.

From Salon ● Jul. 5, 2026

You can’t squint past the distracting lens flares.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 24, 2026

Others may just pick one of 11 nations with red home kits, squint their eyes and try and pretend it's actually Harry Wilson scoring rather than Switzerland.

From BBC ● Jun. 10, 2026

“If you squint, you could tell yourself that story in the data,” said Syverson.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Apr. 13, 2026

He had a knit skullcap and a permanent squint from working in the sun.

From "Everything Sad Is Untrue" by Daniel Nayeri

But such squints are a poor substitute for certainty; greater clarity may come from JWST’s measurement of how much iron the nebula holds.

From Scientific American ● Nov. 10, 2023

Farrell squints so hard at times his bushy eyebrows form a barrier on his forehead as if he's trying to keep the world or at least his dark thoughts out of his head.

From Salon ● Mar. 10, 2023

She squints her eyes, trying to find her young self in the pictures.

From Reuters ● Jan. 26, 2023

And as he listens to a follow-up question about that time, Wall squints his eyes and shakes his head.

From Washington Post ● Sep. 2, 2022

She rubs her head and squints her eyes.

From "Pride" by Ibi Zoboi

My head was tilted at an angle that brought the odometer into view, so I squinted: It was about to hit a half-million.

From Barron's ● May 29, 2026

Yet, as he squinted to read the small print on jars of Skippy sitting on the same shelf, the 68-year old made a more disappointing discovery.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jan. 28, 2026

Two women at a food stand squinted in the sunlight as they cooked whole chickens on a hot grill to serve with freshly made tortillas and beans and rice.

From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 9, 2025

“The lawyers squinted in the desert sunlight and asked a great many questions about the progress and treatment of Ed Dwight and took notes.”

From Seattle Times ● Feb. 9, 2024

People held up signs, but strangely she couldn't make out the words on them even when she squinted.

From "The Marvellers" by Dhonielle Clayton

“Constant squinting, reduced blinking and rubbing the eyes due to eyestrain can accelerate laxity and puffiness.”

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jan. 1, 2026

While it can lead to squinting, eyes pointing in different directions, blinking a lot, or headaches, many children do not notice there is anything wrong and have no obvious symptoms.

From BBC ● Oct. 18, 2025

I’d follow a recipe to the letter and still end up squinting at the oven door, trying to gauge whether I’d accidentally created something leaden or gummy or wrong.

From Salon ● Apr. 3, 2025

This being a western, there are plenty of menfolk squinting and spitting, making threats and getting into fights; certainly Jacob and Spencer are heroes of traditional dye.

From Los Angeles Times ● Mar. 21, 2025

“I’m not sure,” Natalie said, squinting at him thoughtfully.

From "The Strangers" by Margaret Peterson Haddix

Related Words

• peek
• peep