grinned; grinning
: to draw back the lips so as to show the teeth especially in amusement or laughter
grinner
noun
plural grins
: a facial expression produced by grinning especially in pleasure or amusement
a happy grin
She grew into a nimble young girl of seven winters, a thoughtful girl with shining brown eyes and a wide grin …—
Louise Erdrich
Louise ErdrichI wanted to wipe the grin off his face [=make him stop smiling.]
Synonyms
Examples of grin in a Sentence
Verb
She continued to tease her brother, grinning wickedly.
grinned at the kids' fooling around in the pool
Recent Examples on the Web
Emma Kershaw, People.com, 14 Jan. 2025
By Monica Hunter-Hart, Forbes Staff When Justin Baldoni emerged grinning from a black van during a break from the rain at the Aug. 6 premiere of It Ends with Us in New York City, his co-star Blake Lively was nowhere to be seen.
—Monica Hunter-Hart, Forbes, 7 Jan. 2025
India Espy-Jones, Essence, 6 Jan. 2025
Meanwhile, Smile 2 reignites the disturbing thrills of the first movie, in which a demonic presence transfers itself to a new host by forcing the previous one into suicide while staring its target in the face with a devious grin.
—Eric Kohn, The Hollywood Reporter, 6 Jan. 2025
See all Example Sentences for grin 
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Verb
The first photo shows Margera and Phoenix grinning while on a racing car ride, with Phoenix pretending to drive the vehicle.
—Emma Kershaw, People.com, 14 Jan. 2025
By Monica Hunter-Hart, Forbes Staff When Justin Baldoni emerged grinning from a black van during a break from the rain at the Aug. 6 premiere of It Ends with Us in New York City, his co-star Blake Lively was nowhere to be seen.
—Monica Hunter-Hart, Forbes, 7 Jan. 2025
Noun
Sheryl Lee Ralph’s sculpted rouge gave her cheekbones a lift, while Kerry Washington’s circular pink blush exaggerated her grin.
—India Espy-Jones, Essence, 6 Jan. 2025
Meanwhile, Smile 2 reignites the disturbing thrills of the first movie, in which a demonic presence transfers itself to a new host by forcing the previous one into suicide while staring its target in the face with a devious grin.
—Eric Kohn, The Hollywood Reporter, 6 Jan. 2025
See all Example Sentences for grin
Dictionary Entries Near grin
Cite this Entry
“Grin.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/grin. Accessed 21 Jan. 2025.
Copy CitationKids Definition
grin
verb
grinned; grinning
: to draw back the lips so as to show the teeth especially in laughter
grin
noun
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