hint
Americannoun
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hints
plural
-
an indirect, covert, or helpful suggestion; clue.
Give me a hint as to his identity.
- Synonyms:
- inkling, reminder, memorandum, innuendo, insinuation, allusion
-
a very slight or hardly noticeable amount; soupçon.
a hint of garlic in the salad dressing.
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perceived indication or suggestion; note; intimation.
a hint of spring in the air.
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Obsolete. an occasion or opportunity.
verb (used with object)
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hints,
present (3rd person singular)
-
hinted,
past participle, past
-
hinting
present participle
verb (used without object)
-
hints,
present (3rd person singular)
-
hinted,
past participle, past
-
hinting
present participle
noun
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a suggestion or implication given in an indirect or subtle manner
he dropped a hint
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a helpful piece of advice or practical suggestion
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a small amount; trace
verb
Usage
What does hint mean?
A hint is an indirect, disguised, or helpful suggestion. In other words, it’s a clue, as in Can you just give me a hint about what my birthday present is?
A hint that suggests something can be planned or unplanned, and it can even be hidden using language that only some parties may understand. A hint is usually something you see, hear, or read.
Hint can also mean a slightly noticeable amount of, such as with a taste or a smell, as in I taste a hint of fennel in this sausage.
To hint means to give a hint, as in Our teacher hinted that we might not have to take a final exam, but they wouldn’t say for sure.
To hint also means to imply something rather than stating it directly, as in The ending hinted at a sequel coming but never said it outright.
Example: I’ll never figure out the puzzle if you don’t give me a hint.
Synonym Usage
Hint, intimate, insinuate, suggest denote the conveying of an idea to the mind indirectly or without full or explicit statement. To hint is to convey an idea covertly or indirectly, but intelligibly: to hint that one would like a certain present; to hint that bits of gossip might be true. To intimate is to give a barely perceptible hint, often with the purpose of influencing action: to intimate that something may be possible. To insinuate is to hint artfully, often at what one would not dare to say directly: to insinuate something against someone's reputation. Suggest denotes particularly recalling something to the mind or starting a new train of thought by means of association of ideas: The name doesn't suggest anything to me.
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
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hintsimple
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hintssimple
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have hintedperfect
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has hintedperfect
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am hintingprogressive
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are hintingprogressive
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is hintingprogressive
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have been hintingperfect progressive
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has been hintingperfect progressive
Past
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hintedsimple
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had hintedperfect
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was hintingprogressive
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were hintingprogressive
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had been hintingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of hint
First recorded in 1595–1605; (noun) originally, “opportunity, occasion,” apparently variant of obsolete hent “grasp, act of seizing,” derivative of the verb: “to grasp, take,” Middle English henten, Old English hentan; (verb) derivative of the noun
Explanation
A hint is a slight indication or clue. Your mother might hint at the fact that she doesn’t like your shoes, while your grandmother will just come right out and say that they’re ugly. If you’re a journalist following a lead, you’ll prefer that your source give you all the facts, rather than just a hint. A hint can be an indirect suggestion and it is also a very small amount — maybe you take just a hint of sugar in your coffee. As a verb, hint is an intimation or subtle suggestion. It’s also something you drop, like when you hint that you want a particular video game for your birthday.
Vocabulary lists containing hint
Beowulf vocabulary
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Talk Like Shakespeare Day, List 4
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Words for Cheese Writers
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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.
See Examples For:
The Globe and Mail in an editorial said: "In the end, Prime Minister Mark Carney took the hint from the Canadian public rather than the bait from the American president."
From Barron's ● Aug. 22, 2026
“I’ve always thought that comedy and joking is something that is joyful and light, but almost always has a hint of the truth in it,” she added.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 18, 2026
Finally, after Dan failed to get the hint, Bill cut in.
From Slate ● Aug. 14, 2026
He says he has not missed gruelling pre-season training drills, but admits to "a hint of sadness" because "that's a big part of my life that I'm going to miss being involved in".
From BBC ● Aug. 13, 2026
“Those two warships today gave us just a little hint of what’s to come,” Paul said.
From I Survived the American Revolution, 1776 by Lauren Tarshis
Other world-model companies are reluctant to share details about the AIs they are building, but their acquisitions and the publications of their engineers give some hints.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 21, 2026
Federal data hints at a broader slowdown in what had been HSI’s most urgent work.
From Salon ● Aug. 15, 2026
A summary of the discussion from that July BOJ meeting hints at rate increases to come, “faster than market expectations.”
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 10, 2026
Short of driving cross-country or moving to the Midwest, there is little the average Californian can do to avoid this, but the vast variation in prices holds hints about other ways to save.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 31, 2026
He was looking, as he always was on some level, for hints of the Unseen City—which was how he chose to think of it, since Weep still brought the taste of tears.
From "Strange the Dreamer" by Laini Taylor
Others hinted that the time was right to diversify into other sectors of the S&P 500.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 23, 2026
Cyborg has hinted her fight with Vieira will be her final MMA bout without confirming she is set to retire.
From BBC ● Aug. 21, 2026
It did not mention Trump's order or his desire to resume talks with Kim, with whom he has hinted at being in contact.
From Barron's ● Aug. 19, 2026
Later on, the “Make No Sense” singer hinted at some other legal roadblocks ahead in his transition across the globe: “It can’t be my home until they give me my visa, right?”
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 13, 2026
Years later, I gently hinted this to Ruth, and she didn’t seem to know what I was talking about, so maybe I was wrong.
From "Never Let Me Go" by Kazuo Ishiguro
In that trial, Brambles swore he was the victim of a “tragic mis-identification” while hinting at a conspiracy against him because of a stormy 23-year career.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 13, 2026
But this week he told the BBC's Wake up to Money the announcements, aimed at tackling the cost of living, are not enough on their own, hinting at further support.
From BBC ● Aug. 12, 2026
One training noted that it was “not an introductory course,” hinting that the school-based health providers are well-versed in the topic.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 10, 2026
“I think of this as a detox, for both the financial markets and financial journalists,” Bessent said of Warsh’s strategy of not hinting about the direction of rate policy.
From MarketWatch ● Aug. 4, 2026
This can’t be the super-secret room Nora’s been hinting at.
From "A Soft Place to Land" by Janae Marks
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.
