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:
There is no way around those bright eyes, that Cheshire grin.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 27, 2026
Catherine, Princess of Wales, beams on the front page of the Sun, which reads: "We're all grin it together".
From BBC ● Aug. 23, 2026
The same grin can look menacing or jovial, depending on how Thatcher contorts the rest of her features.
From Salon ● Aug. 17, 2026
“No!” she gasps, covering her mouth but unable to hide the mischievous grin that’s broken across her face at the memory.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 10, 2026
Five minutes later I opened my eyes in the icy simulation room again, a wide grin spread across my face as I looked at my mom for confirmation of what I already knew.
From "Glitch" by Laura Martin
People grinned and then gasped, some with tears streaming down their faces.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 23, 2026
When Tinfow found himself at a loss for words, she grinned.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 14, 2026
As the others grinned and grimaced at their rivals’ responses, Becerra was as stone-faced as Buster Keaton.
From Los Angeles Times ● Apr. 23, 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, despite everything, and circled the tree with him.
From "Impossible Creatures" by Katherine Rundell
The storyline is inscrutable, but Walters displays real range, gazing forlornly in the rain, hurling dishes at a wall, grinning and giving high-fives when a family takes him bowling.
From Slate ● Sep. 17, 2026
"Guess what this is for?" he challenges us, grinning.
From BBC ● Aug. 20, 2026
“Perfect problem to have,” it wrote, ending the sentence with a wide grinning emoji.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 16, 2026
“Too late,” I said grinning back, my joy as oversize as my new dress.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 14, 2026
The cows trotted over, grinning and happily mooing to the geese.
From "The Wild Robot Escapes" by Peter Brown
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.
