girn
1 Americanverb (used with or without object)
noun
verb
-
to snarl
-
to grimace; pull grotesque faces
-
to complain fretfully or peevishly
Etymology
Origin of girn
C14: a variant of grin
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.
To "girn in a widdy" is to laugh or girn when a halter is round the neck—meaning that it is no joke to be placed in a difficult or dangerous position.
From The Proverbs of Scotland by Alexander Hislop
"Ye needn't girn that away, Jane Browst," whispered Aunt Perrine, emphatically.
From The Atlantic Monthly, Volume 10, No. 60, October, 1862 by Various
It maks guid fellows girn an' gape, Wi' chokin dread; An' Robin's bonnet wave wi' crape For Mailie dead.
From Poems and Songs of Robert Burns by Robert Burns
He can girn a laugh as well ’s onybody at a raight divil’s jest.
From Wuthering Heights by Emily Brontë
Can He no shift it frae the tae airm to the tither, but the bairn maun girn?
From The Elect Lady by George MacDonald
Random Word
Spin the wheel and learn a new word!
Get a wordDefinitions 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.
