Showing results for take a hint. Search instead for Take+A+Hint.

take a hint

Idioms

Also, take the hint. Accept an indirect or covert suggestion, as in Evelyn took the hint and quietly left the room. This idiom was first recorded in 1711.

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:

take a hint

What do you use when you’re trying to dissuade a house guest that just won’t take a hint?

From Los Angeles Times ● Jan. 9, 2026

For seeming unable to take a hint, Judge Beetlestone risks a rebuke.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Dec. 22, 2025

I might take a hint and switch to a newly repairable Pixel.

From The Verge ● Apr. 9, 2022

Of course, not one to take a hint, Kelly felt the need to continue the feud she'd initiated, even after Osaka had opted for the high road and deleted her tweet and blocked Kelly.

From Salon ● Jul. 20, 2021

He murped, then went to the edge of the overgrowth and stood there agitatedly, waiting for me to follow, glaring at me like I was an idiot who didn’t know how to take a hint.

From "Endangered" by Eliot Schrefer

Random Word

Spin the wheel and learn a new word!

Get a word

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023