hint

[hint]

noun

1. an indirect, covert, or helpful suggestion; clue.

   Give me a hint as to his identity.

   Synonyms: inkling, reminder, memorandum, innuendo, insinuation, allusion

2. a very slight or hardly noticeable amount; soupçon.

   a hint of garlic in the salad dressing.

3. perceived indication or suggestion; note; intimation.

   a hint of spring in the air.

4. Obsolete.,  an occasion or opportunity.

verb (used with object)

1. to give a hint of.

   gray skies hinting a possible snowfall.

   Synonyms: imply
   Antonyms: declare, express

verb (used without object)

1. to make indirect suggestion or allusion; subtly imply (usually followed byat ).

   The article hinted at corruption in the mayor's office.

hint

/ hɪnt /

noun

1. a suggestion or implication given in an indirect or subtle manner

   he dropped a hint

2. a helpful piece of advice or practical suggestion

3. a small amount; trace

verb

1. to suggest or imply indirectly

Other Word Forms

• hintingly adverb
• hinter noun
• hinting noun
• unhinted adjective

Word History and Origins

Origin of hint¹

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

Word History and Origins

Origin of hint¹

C17: of uncertain origin

Idioms and Phrases

see take a hint.

Synonym Study

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.

Example Sentences

He has braces on his teeth, blond hair cut in the middle and hints on his chin that he might one day need to shave.

Read more on Los Angeles Times

It was a wave of unbridled joy, with a hint of relief, as a wall of noise made its way around south Belfast.

Read more on BBC

The Consuelos-Ripas don’t reveal the hard figures, but we get a hint and it’s a lot.

Read more on The Wall Street Journal

Mary and I passed the bottle back and forth, our hands grazing, the only hint of intimacy those days.

Read more on Los Angeles Times

Although Mr. Sorkin offers hints that the crash looms larger in our memory than it did in the moment, his focus is on portraying the lives of the people who lived through it.

Read more on The Wall Street Journal

Related Words

• advice 
• announcement 
• clue 
• evidence 
• idea 
• implication 
• impression 
• information 
• inkling 
• intimation 
• mention 
• notion 
• reference 
• reminder 
• scent 
• sign 
• suspicion 
• symptom 
• taste 
• tinge 

When To Use

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.