Synonyms Examples Word Origin
See more synonyms for grin on Thesaurus.com verb (used without object), grinned, grin·ning. to smile broadly, especially as an indication of pleasure, amusement, or the like. to draw back the lips so as to show the teeth, as a snarling dog or a person in pain. to show or be exposed through an opening, crevice, etc. Show More
verb (used with object), grinned, grin·ning. to express or produce by grinning: The little boy grinned his approval of the gift. Show More
a broad smile. the act of producing a broad smile. the act of withdrawing the lips and showing the teeth, as in anger or pain. Show More
Origin of grin 1 before 1000; Middle English grinnen, grennen, Old English grennian; cognate with Old High German grennan to mutter
Related forms grin·ner , noun grin·ning·ly , adverb Chiefly Scot. a snare like a running noose. Show More
verb (used with object), grinned, grin·ning. to catch in a nooselike snare. Show More
Origin of grin 2 before 900; Middle English grin(e ), Old English grin, gryn
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018
Examples from the Web for grin Contemporary Examples of grin Then, with a grin , “And we all know how degenerate those people are.”
Viewers leave with a grin , but are no wiser about the frightening symptoms of ALS.
“It will only be a moderate size disaster,” Kleiman says with a grin .
Besides,” she adds with the grin of a confident fashionista, “people are going to want to wear the clothes that I wear anyway.
The young infantryman in me beamed and I started to grin , thinking about the glory.
Historical Examples of grin Then suddenly that face cracked, broadened, spread to a grin .
With a grin and a swagger of pure bravado Mulready turned and obeyed.
And the devil did grin , for his darling sin Is pride that apes humility.
Or is he recognized as colored only in respect to his peculiar wearin' of the grin ?
I saw them grin at the little man and spit tobacco juice his way.
British Dictionary definitions for grin verb grins , grinning or grinned to smile with the lips drawn back revealing the teeth or express (something) by such a smile to grin a welcome (intr) to draw back the lips revealing the teeth, as in a snarl or grimace grin and bear it informal to suffer trouble or hardship without complaint Show More
a broad smile a snarl or grimace Show More
Derived Forms grinner , noun grinning , adjective , noun Word Origin for grin Old English grennian; related to Old High German grennen to snarl, Old Norse grenja to howl; see grunt
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition
© William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012
Word Origin and History for grin v. Old English grennian "show the teeth" (in pain or anger), common Germanic (cf. Old Norse grenja "to howl," grina "to grin;" Dutch grienen "to whine;" German greinen "to cry"), from PIE root *ghrei- "be open." Sense of "bare the teeth in a broad smile" is late 15c., perhaps via the notion of "forced or unnatural smile." Related: Grinned ; grinning .
Show More
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper
‘Mozart in the Jungle’: Inside Amazon’s Brave New World of Sex, Drugs, and Classical Music