grin
1 Americanverb (used without object)
verb (used with object)
noun
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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.
noun
verb (used with object)
verb
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to smile with the lips drawn back revealing the teeth or express (something) by such a smile
to grin a welcome
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(intr) to draw back the lips revealing the teeth, as in a snarl or grimace
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informal to suffer trouble or hardship without complaint
noun
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a broad smile
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a snarl or grimace
Synonym Usage
See laugh.
Other Word Forms
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."
Vocabulary lists containing 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.
See Examples For:
The engineer—who looks like he stepped out of central casting with his dimpled grin, 6’2” frame, striped shirt and Dickies denim overalls—has been known to shed a tear of his own.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 21, 2026
The thing’s Cheshire feline grin even made Satsuki a little nervous.
From Salon ● Jul. 15, 2026
Albanese sported a wide grin as the two leaders briefly paused at the event to take a selfie photo.
From Barron's ● Jul. 9, 2026
“If he were an animal, he’d be a Cheshire cat with this big grin ear to ear,” said Lloyd Greif, chief executive of the Los Angeles investment bank Greif & Co.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 29, 2026
Clare smiled in an attempt to smooth things over, then remembered that his hideous toothy grin did more harm than good.
From "The Undead Fox of Deadwood Forest" by Aubrey Hartman
When Tinfow found himself at a loss for words, she grinned.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 14, 2026
Goodell grinned and replied, “I really don’t know the answer to that one. If she’s interested, she has the ability to do it, let’s put it that way.”
From Los Angeles Times ● May 27, 2026
Still dressed in his black suit from the red carpet, the star ate with his award sitting on the table and grinned as he signed paper hats for staff.
From BBC ● Mar. 17, 2026
She grinned as she explained that some sculptures of famed Buddhist monk Ji Gong even showed him smiling on one side of his face and frowning on the other.
From Barron's ● Jan. 19, 2026
She grinned and grinned to show her useful teeth.
From "Secrets at Sea" by Richard Peck
"A beautiful day," a grinning Eric Trump said on Fox News at the newly minted President Donald J. Trump International Airport, a short drive from the family's Mar-a-Lago golf resort and compound.
From Barron's ● Jul. 9, 2026
The Ivory Coast forward is not about to stop grinning, as former Hammarby team-mate Nahir Besara explained.
From BBC ● Jul. 5, 2026
But after Trump Jr. touched down, the two men toured the Ambanis’ private zoo, and at night they performed a Gujarati folk dance, grinning as they moved together to the music.
From Salon ● Jun. 11, 2026
She’s grinning because of course they fit — that was the ethos behind her design.
From Los Angeles Times ● May 15, 2026
He had acted silly even at his own wedding, grinning during the solemnities, clowning when cutting the cake.
From "Abel's Island" by William Steig
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.
