blink

American  

[blingk] / blɪŋk /

verb (used without object)

blinks, present (3rd person singular) blinked, past participle, past blinking present participle

1. to close and reopen the eyes, especially involuntarily.

   Every time I blink, it makes the cut on my eyelid hurt.

2. to look with half-shut eyes or rapidly closing and opening eyes.

   I blinked at the harsh morning light.

3. to be startled, surprised, or dismayed (usually followed byat ).

   She blinked at his sudden fury.

4. to look evasively or with indifference; ignore (often followed byat ).

   to blink at another's eccentricities.

5. to shine unsteadily, dimly, or intermittently; twinkle; flicker.

   The light on the buoy blinked in the distance.

6. to yield or back down from a confrontation.

   All eyes are on the two nations' standoff, waiting to see who blinks.

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verb (used with object)

blinks, present (3rd person singular) blinked, past participle, past blinking present participle

1. to close and reopen (the eye or eyes), usually rapidly, repeatedly, or involuntarily;

   She blinked her eyes in an effort to wake up.

2. to cause (something) to twinkle or shine intermittently.

   We blinked the flashlight frantically, but there was no response.

3. Rare. to ignore deliberately; evade; shirk.

   Although deaths continue to rise, the authorities have blinked the problem.

   Synonyms:

   condone, avoid, disregard, overlook

noun

blinks plural

1. an act or instance of closing and reopening the eyes, especially repeatedly or involuntarily.

   She claimed not to be startled, but her blink betrayed her.

2. the act or condition of flickering, twinkling, or shining intermittently.

   The faithful blink of the lighthouse comforted the crew.

   Synonyms:

   flutter, twinkle, flicker, wink

3. a gleam; glimmer.

   There was not a blink of light anywhere.

4. Chiefly Scot. a glance or glimpse.

5. Meteorology.

   1. iceblink.

   2. snowblink.

idioms

1. on the blink, not in proper working order; in need of repair.

   The washing machine is on the blink again.

blink British  

/ blɪŋk /

verb

1. to close and immediately reopen (the eyes or an eye), usually involuntarily

2. (intr) to look with the eyes partially closed, as in strong sunlight

3. to shine intermittently, as in signalling, or unsteadily

4. (tr; foll by away, from, etc) to clear the eyes of (dust, tears, etc)

5. to be surprised or amazed

   he blinked at the splendour of the ceremony

6. to pretend not to know or see (a fault, injustice, etc)

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noun

1. the act or an instance of blinking

2. a glance; glimpse

3. short for iceblink

4. slang not working properly

blink More Idioms  

1. see on the blink.

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Usage

What does blink mean? To blink is to open and close the eyes rapidly, usually involuntarily. A blink is the act of blinking. To blink is also to shine unsteadily, as a light that is about to die might. In a figurative sense, to blink means to be startled or dismayed, as in Carter blinked at all the money his business partner spent on traveling. To blink can also mean to ignore or avoid something, as in Society will blink at rude behavior if the person being rude is powerful enough. Example: Blink your eyes when you see the light flash.

Synonym Usage

See wink ¹.

Other Word Forms

Inflected Forms

Nouns

• blinks
  plural

Participles

• blinking
  present
• blinked
  past

Conjugated Forms

Present

• blink
  simple
• blinks
  simple
• have blinked
  perfect
• has blinked
  perfect
• am blinking
  progressive
• are blinking
  progressive
• is blinking
  progressive
• have been blinking
  perfect progressive
• has been blinking
  perfect progressive

Past

• blinked
  simple
• had blinked
  perfect
• was blinking
  progressive
• were blinking
  progressive
• had been blinking
  perfect progressive

Future

• will blink
  simple
• will have blinked
  perfect
• will be blinking
  progressive
• will have been blinking
  perfect progressive

Etymology

Origin of blink

First recorded in 1200–50; Middle English verb blincken, variant of blenchen, blenken “to quail, shrink back, blench” ( see blench ¹); cognate with Dutch, German blinken

Explanation

To blink is to briefly close your eyes. The bright sunlight first thing in the morning might make you blink rapidly, until your eyes adjust. Your eyes blink reflexively, when you're not even thinking about it, but you can also deliberately blink back tears. Certain lights blink as well, like your car's turn signal, flashing on and off. A figurative way to blink is to hesitate or give up, especially at a confrontation: "The lawyers kept holding out for a settlement, waiting for the other side to blink first." The origin of blink is probably the Middle Dutch blinken, "to glitter."

Example Sentences

In short, relying on a relatively small number of highly sophisticated, hugely expensive ships that can be taken out in the blink of an eye is now considered a bad idea.

From BBC • Jul. 1, 2026

“I don’t mandate it. With Justin, I really just showed him where I thought it would be advantageous, and he didn’t blink for a second and was excited to attack it.”

From Los Angeles Times • Jun. 17, 2026

With his foot to the floor, Rosenqvist edged his car in front and took the checkered flag by just 0.02 seconds, barely the blink of an eye.

From The Wall Street Journal • May 25, 2026

When Villa were criticised for resting key players in their home defeat by Tottenham before the second leg of the Europa League semi-final against Nottingham Forest, Emery did not blink.

From BBC • May 20, 2026

And then, in a blink, the shaking stopped.

From "I Survived the Eruption of Mount St. Helens, 1980" by Lauren Tarshis

Related Words

• flash
• flicker
• flutter
• sparkle
• squint