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Synonyms

grin

1 American  
[grin] / grɪn /

verb (used without object)

grinned, grinning

  1. to smile broadly, especially as an indication of pleasure, amusement, or the like.

    Synonyms:
    crack a smile, smirk, smile, beam
    Antonyms:
    glare, frown

  2. to draw back the lips so as to show the teeth, as a snarling dog or a person in pain.

  3. to show or be exposed through an opening, crevice, etc.

verb (used with object)

grinned, grinning

  1. to express or produce by grinning.

    The little boy grinned his approval of the gift.

noun

  1. a broad smile.

  2. the act of producing a broad smile.

  3. the act of withdrawing the lips and showing the teeth, as in anger or pain.

grin 2 American  
[grin] / grɪn /

noun

  1. Chiefly Scot. a snare like a running noose.

verb (used with object)

grinned, grinning

  1. Archaic. to catch in a nooselike snare.

grin British  
/ ɡrɪn /

verb

  1. to smile with the lips drawn back revealing the teeth or express (something) by such a smile

    to grin a welcome

  2. (intr) to draw back the lips revealing the teeth, as in a snarl or grimace

  3. informal to suffer trouble or hardship without complaint

"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

noun

  1. a broad smile

  2. a snarl or grimace

"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

Related Words

See laugh.

Other Word Forms

  • grinner noun
  • grinning adjective
  • grinningly adverb

Etymology

Origin of grin1

First recorded before 1000; Middle English grinnen, grennen, Old English grennian; cognate with Old High German grennan “to mutter”

Origin of grin2

First recorded before 900; Middle English grin(e), grinne, Old English grin, gryn

Explanation

When you grin, you smile. You're likely to grin when your sister tells you a particularly funny knock-knock joke. There's some disagreement about the difference between a grin and a smile — some define a grin as a broad smile that exposes your teeth, but others consider a grin to be a smile with lips tightly closed. Either way, a grin usually expresses amusement, although it sometimes has a mischievous or sly implication: "No one confessed to letting the rabbit loose in the classroom, but one student's grin gave her away."

Keep Reading on Vocabulary.com

Vocabulary lists containing grin

Words from "Miss Alaineus, A Vocabulary Disaster" by Debra Frasier

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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.

Looking up with a gleaming, wide grin as if to catch her next words, Khong is deceptively calm for a bestselling author whose third book, “My Dear You,” is out this month.

From Los Angeles Times • Apr. 13, 2026

The grin on Fury's face suggested Steward is likely to appear in the corner on fight night.

From BBC • Apr. 9, 2026

“My job just doubled,” he says with a grin.

From Barron's • Mar. 27, 2026

If it goes seven or eight seasons, I’ll get two or three seasons out of it,’” he says, adding with a grin.

From Los Angeles Times • Mar. 24, 2026

A smug grin spread across General Knox’s face.

From "Boy 2.0" by Tracey Baptiste

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.