twinkle
Americanverb (used without object)
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to shine with a flickering gleam of light, as a star or distant light.
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to sparkle in the light.
The diamond on her finger twinkled in the firelight.
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(of the eyes) to be bright with amusement, pleasure, etc.
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to move flutteringly and quickly, as flashes of light; flit.
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Archaic. to wink; blink.
verb (used with object)
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to emit (light) in intermittent gleams or flashes.
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Archaic. to wink (the eyes or eyelids).
noun
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a flickering or intermittent brightness or light.
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a scintillating brightness in the eyes; sparkle.
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the time required for a wink; a twinkling.
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Archaic. a wink.
verb
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to emit or reflect light in a flickering manner; shine brightly and intermittently; sparkle
twinkling stars
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(of the eyes) to sparkle, esp with amusement or delight
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rare to move about quickly
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rare (also tr) to wink (the eyes); blink
noun
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an intermittent gleam of light; flickering brightness; sparkle or glimmer
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an instant
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a rare word for wink 1
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of twinkle
before 900; Middle English twinklen (v.), Old English twinclian; see twink, -le
Explanation
To twinkle is to sparkle and shine with a flickering light. A night sky in a dark place appears to be filled with stars that twinkle, almost like diamonds in the sky. Stars aren't the only things that twinkle. People whose eyes seem to glimmer with a magical or playful charm can be described as having a twinkle in their eyes. Holiday lights that flicker and flash, gemstones that sparkle in the light, and shimmering fairy lights strung across a patio are examples of other things that twinkle.
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.
"You're not meant to be laughing, but you can see all your mates trying to make you laugh, and they've got that twinkle in their eye," she says.
From BBC • Mar. 27, 2026
The winning stock might not exist yet: Today’s superstars like Nvidia, Apple, Microsoft and leading consumer brands like Nike, McDonald’ and Walmart weren’t even a twinkle in their founders’ eyes in 1926.
From The Wall Street Journal • Mar. 23, 2026
After the premiere of Season 1 at the Berlin International Film Festival, Le Carré sat across from Hiddleston, a twinkle in his eye, and said, “Perhaps there should be some more.”
From Los Angeles Times • Jan. 11, 2026
Their goal was to understand how the pulsar's radio signal appears to "twinkle" as it travels through clouds of gas on its way to Earth.
From Science Daily • Jan. 6, 2026
Fireflies twinkle around me like a crowd of visiting stars.
From "Born Behind Bars" by Padma Venkatraman
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.
