smile
Americanverb (used without object)
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smiles,
present (3rd person singular)
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smiled,
past participle, past
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smiling
present participle
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to assume a facial expression indicating pleasure, favor, or amusement, but sometimes derision or scorn, characterized by an upturning of the corners of the mouth.
- Antonyms:
- frown
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to regard with favor.
Luck smiled on us that night.
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to have a pleasant or agreeable appearance or aspect, as natural scenes, objects, etc..
The landscape smiled in the sunlight.
verb (used with object)
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smiles,
present (3rd person singular)
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smiled,
past participle, past
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smiling
present participle
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to assume or give (a smile, especially of a given kind).
She smiled a warm and friendly smile.
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to express by a smile.
to smile approval.
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to bring, put, drive, etc., by or as by smiling.
to smile one's tears away.
noun
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smiles
plural
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the act or an instance of smiling; a smiling expression of the face.
- Antonyms:
- frown
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favor or kindly regard.
fortune's smile.
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a pleasant or agreeable appearance, look, or aspect.
verb phrase
noun
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a facial expression characterized by an upturning of the corners of the mouth, usually showing amusement, friendliness, etc, but sometimes scorn, etc
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favour or blessing
the smile of fortune
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an agreeable appearance
verb
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(intr) to wear or assume a smile
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-
to look (at) with a kindly or amused expression
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to look derisively (at) instead of being annoyed
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to bear (troubles, etc) patiently
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(intr; foll by on or upon) to show approval; bestow a blessing
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(tr) to express by means of a smile
she smiled a welcome
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to drive away or change by smiling
smile away one's tears
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to recover cheerfully from misfortune
Synonym Usage
See laugh.
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
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smilelessnessnoun
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smilernoun
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smilingnessnoun
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subsmilenoun
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outsmileverb (used with object)
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half-smilingadjective
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smilelessadjective
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smilingadjective
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unsmilingadjective
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half-smilinglyadverb
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smilelesslyadverb
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smilinglyadverb
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unsmilinglyadverb
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
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smilesimple
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smilessimple
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have smiledperfect
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has smiledperfect
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am smilingprogressive
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are smilingprogressive
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is smilingprogressive
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have been smilingperfect progressive
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has been smilingperfect progressive
Past
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smiledsimple
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had smiledperfect
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was smilingprogressive
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were smilingprogressive
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had been smilingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of smile
First recorded in 1250–1300; Middle English smyllen (verb); cognate with Old High German smīlan, Danish smile
Explanation
Smile is the thing you do with your face when you are happy -– or want others to think you are. Your expression softens and your mouth turns up at the corners. Smile, noun or verb, with its universal message and association with enjoyment and pleasure, is a very useful word. It can express joy or even say hello. Of course if you “smile through your sorrows,” you are either tying to make yourself feel better or fool other people into thinking you are happy. But in general, a smile is a good sign. And as the song goes “You’re never fully dressed without a smile.”
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:
And when he does face someone a second time, Murphy said with a smile, who’s to say he’ll him pitch the same way?
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 13, 2026
"She would make the angriest bloke smile, and the saddest lady laugh, that's just who she was... she was who everyone went to when they needed to be fixed."
From BBC ● Oct. 8, 2026
He routinely met a hostile premise with calm facts, a sharp answer and a smile that made the host’s irritation look frivolous.
From Salon ● Oct. 8, 2026
Between Jordan’s charm and Misty’s smile that only emerges around him, the film flirts with becoming a romantic comedy.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 7, 2026
I smile, trying to reassure him I’m all right.
From "Will’s Race for Home" by Jewell Parker Rhodes
Sofiyka stretches, smiles and runs to wash her face.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 4, 2026
“She’s looking at me and her eyes are opening ... she’s looking at me and she smiles or something and it’s the cutest thing. My heart like jumps out of its chest.”
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 29, 2026
He smiles broadly as he signs an executive order.
From Slate ● Sep. 22, 2026
Several return trips later, Anthony now has a mouthful of impressive implants – and, unsurprisingly, he is all smiles.
From BBC ● Sep. 8, 2026
He was sick of sitting here listening to Mr. Reardon bully his family with all these “hypotheticals,” all these simpers and smirks, cruel smiles and humorless laughs.
From "Found" by Margaret Peterson Haddix
As the accusations flew, the businessman just smiled and sweet-talked his way through the maelstrom - even winning over President Emmerson Mnangagwa, who was initially unimpressed by him when he first came to power.
From BBC ● Oct. 7, 2026
Now they have just one player in his 30s: That’s 30-year-old Kevon Looney, who smiled at the thought that he is suddenly the elder statesman of the team.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 29, 2026
"I suffered, but I enjoyed and that's why I smiled when I walked out of the court because I missed that feeling."
From BBC ● Sep. 24, 2026
Carrying backpacks and duffel bags, and wearing civilian clothes, crew members smiled and waved at a small crowd that had assembled to meet them.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 2, 2026
She raised her head, smiled, and shook her head the slightest bit.
From "Nory Ryan’s Song" by Patricia Reilly Giff
Photos of them smiling while being carried away by policewomen have also gone viral.
From BBC ● Oct. 9, 2026
“Still talking about the same things, right?” he asked, smiling.
From Slate ● Oct. 6, 2026
Jacob Tremblay embodies a young Kaczynski almost exactly as I have imagined him, minus the smiling and the forging of his mother’s signature.
From Salon ● Oct. 4, 2026
The musicians were smiling, the spectators tapped and clapped, and that magical sense of timelessness was real, spanning multiple generations.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 3, 2026
I stood there smiling for a minute, giving that tree a chance to believe what I was saying.
From "Ida B" by Katherine Hannigan
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.
