squint
Americanverb (used without object)
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to look with the eyes partly closed.
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Ophthalmology. to be affected with strabismus; be cross-eyed.
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to look or glance obliquely or sidewise; look askance.
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to make or have an indirect reference to or bearing on; tend or incline toward (usually followed by toward, at, etc.).
verb (used with object)
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to close (the eyes) partly in looking.
The baby squinted his eyes at the bright lights.
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to cause to squint; cause to look obliquely.
noun
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an act or instance of squinting.
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Ophthalmology. a condition of the eye consisting in noncoincidence of the optic axes; strabismus.
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Informal. a quick glance.
Let me have a squint at that paper.
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a looking obliquely or askance.
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an indirect reference.
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an inclination or tendency, especially an oblique or perverse one.
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Also called hagioscope. (in a church) a small opening in a wall giving a view of the altar.
adjective
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looking obliquely; looking with a side glance; looking askance.
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Ophthalmology. (of the eyes) affected with strabismus.
verb
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(usually intr) to cross or partly close (the eyes)
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(intr) to have a squint
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(intr) to look or glance sideways or askance
noun
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the nontechnical name for strabismus
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the act or an instance of squinting; glimpse
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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
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informal a quick look; glance
adjective
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having a squint
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informal crooked; askew
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
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squintsimple
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squintssimple
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have squintedperfect
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has squintedperfect
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am squintingprogressive
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are squintingprogressive
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is squintingprogressive
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have been squintingperfect progressive
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has been squintingperfect progressive
Past
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squintedsimple
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had squintedperfect
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was squintingprogressive
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were squintingprogressive
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had been squintingperfect progressive
Future
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."
Vocabulary lists containing squint
The Lingo of Body Language
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"All Summer in a Day" by Ray Bradbury
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"Raymond's Run"
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
See Examples For:
Maybe you need to squint to see it right now, but after I give you this egg “biscuit” recipe, you’ll be running to the kitchen and that image will become much clearer.
From Salon ● May 22, 2026
Of course, if you squint, you can see what interests Soderbergh in this set-up.
From Los Angeles Times ● Apr. 9, 2026
A scan detected the benign mass on his brain after he developed a slight squint and suffered occasional painful headaches.
From BBC ● Jan. 19, 2026
You could, if you squint, wonder how this year’s consumer grievances differ from prior years.
From MarketWatch ● Dec. 15, 2025
The colorful laminated spines along the shelves shine white with the glare, making me squint as I push my cart of books down the aisle.
From "The Sea in Winter" by Christine Day
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
In a frost-encrusted park in the east of Amsterdam, poet and equal rights activist Quinsy Gario squints in the afternoon sun.
From BBC ● Dec. 18, 2022
“That’s right, young man,” Garret Charles says, and then squints at the boy’s number, pinned to his stupid hip, and whispers something to Monica.
From "Better Nate Than Ever" by Tim Federle
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
Dr. Laurie Margolies, the chief of breast imaging at the Dubin Breast Center at Mount Sinai, has spent nearly four decades reading mammograms, starting back when radiologists squinted at film on light boxes.
From The Wall Street Journal ● May 4, 2026
Kropp squinted at the list, noticing it didn’t include authors’ names, which is how the store is organized.
From Los Angeles Times ● Feb. 26, 2024
“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
The old man squinted and looked toward the car before he answered.
From "Summer of the Mariposas" by Guadalupe García McCall
But once you have accepted the limitations and frustrations, the experience will justify squinting your eyes and straining your neck.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jan. 9, 2026
Outside, a woman called Pat from Manchester was squinting at the sun and gathering her thoughts.
From BBC ● Apr. 23, 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
There is much rubbing of ash between fingers and squinting to gauge the color.
From Los Angeles Times ● Mar. 4, 2025
Pong followed Somkit down the aisle that divided the room in two, squinting against the bright green glare.
From "A Wish in the Dark" by Christina Soontornvat
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
