hint
Americannoun
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hints
plural
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an indirect, covert, or helpful suggestion; clue.
Give me a hint as to his identity.
- Synonyms:
- inkling, reminder, memorandum, innuendo, insinuation, allusion
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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)
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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:
Even the hint of interest in restaurant stocks is good for the sector.
From Barron's ● Oct. 8, 2026
Sebastian Stan, in a remarkably self-effacing role that contains no hint of his Bucky Barnes/Winter Soldier in the Avengers saga, plays Mihai Gheorghiu, the Romanian father of five children.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 8, 2026
"It is possible for the interior of a material to behave differently than the surface, but these experimental results still give us a very strong hint at what's happening inside," Fradkin said.
From Science Daily ● Oct. 7, 2026
At one point, Mariam announces flatly, with a hint of resentment, “We’ve cried out all our tears. We have none left.”
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 1, 2026
I got the hint and hopped back onto the bed, taking a bite out of a bright red apple from the bedside bowl.
From "The Detective's Assistant" by Kate Hannigan
And yet the movie’s central storyline hints at writer-director Bassam Tariq’s inclination to subvert his own brooding-antihero saga, allowing room for unpredictability and the slightest whiff of impish irreverence.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 25, 2026
The first interest-rate increase in three years, and hints of more to come, is likely to tip more apartment owners over the edge.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 22, 2026
Its anatomy does provide some hints about how it may live and feed.
From Science Daily ● Sep. 18, 2026
Her social media feed shows a full and happy life - only the occasional medical appointment hints all is not well.
From BBC ● Sep. 16, 2026
When we walk into the house, the air smells like a bakery, with hints of cinnamon and warm butter.
From "Zara’s Rules for Record-Breaking Fun" by Hena Khan
Patel acknowledged that maybe another approach would have landed him a first date sooner, and later in the interview hinted that a proposal was on the horizon.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 6, 2026
Marvell Technology’s stock has been one of the S&P 500’s top performers in 2026, and the company just hinted that its good times could last for years.
From MarketWatch ● Oct. 6, 2026
Computer simulations, however, hinted that the structures could possess far more sophisticated magnetic properties.
From Science Daily ● Oct. 2, 2026
One estimate of restaurant traffic hinted that rising gasoline and credit costs were already impeding discretionary spending.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 15, 2026
“Well, in that interview,” Harry went on, “Rita Skeeter hinted that Professor Dumbledore was involved in the Dark Arts when he was young.”
From "Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows" by J.K. Rowling
Friday’s strong showing for stocks has helped to revive some of investors’ flagging optimism, hinting at further gains ahead in the fourth quarter, said Jose Torres, senior economist at Interactive Brokers.
From MarketWatch ● Oct. 4, 2026
Chancellor of the Exchequer John Healey isn’t hinting at any major cuts to the fast-growing welfare state.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 1, 2026
They announced the pregnancy in March on their Instagram accounts, hinting that the future baby could share a matching name, with the photo carousel’s caption: “What’s better than two Taylor Lautners?”
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 23, 2026
Ika's analysis found one account reposted nine such claims within just over a tenth of a second -- hinting at possible coordination.
From Barron's ● Sep. 3, 2026
So she had done a bad thing by hinting to Kiyoshi about the rice, but now a good thing had come out of it.
From "A Place to Belong" by Cynthia Kadohata
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.
