smile
verb (used without object)
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.
were smiling
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past progressiveof smile.past progressive
Used to describe an ongoing action or continuous state that was happening at a specific time in the past.
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.
"I was at a celebration, and there were smiling faces everywhere. It was incredible."
From Barron's ● Oct. 26, 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
“If you pause the footage and look closely, you’ll see other people in the background who were smiling at the performance,” Landes added, referencing videos like this one.
From Slate ● May 30, 2025
Describing herself as frozen and “deeply confused” by confused by what was happening, Williams said it appeared that Trump and Epstein were smiling at each other during the incident.
From Salon ● Oct. 24, 2024
The whites of her teeth, too, if she were smiling, but she very much wasn’t.
From "Strange the Dreamer" by Laini Taylor
