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.]
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
Aryn Baker, Time, 8 May 2025
Rams quarterback Matthew Stafford, one of the top passers in NFL history, grinned broadly when asked about playing flag football in the Olympics.
—Gary Klein, Los Angeles Times, 29 May 2025
Lydia Price, People.com, 11 June 2025
Amid the bittersweet blue pyro of Goodison’s farewell, Sorensen wore a mischievous grin.
—Megan Feringa, New York Times, 9 June 2025
See All Example Sentences for grin
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Verb
Read More: World Leaders React as Robert Francis Prevost Becomes First American Pope
As the sun sank behind the Vatican, Pope Leo, from Chicago, grinned and waved to the 100,000 strong crowd.
—Aryn Baker, Time, 8 May 2025
Rams quarterback Matthew Stafford, one of the top passers in NFL history, grinned broadly when asked about playing flag football in the Olympics.
—Gary Klein, Los Angeles Times, 29 May 2025
Noun
Fans couldn't get enough of Ray's performance in Smile 2 (2024), where his smirking close-ups were near-identical to Jack's iconic grins in The Shining (1980).
—Lydia Price, People.com, 11 June 2025
Amid the bittersweet blue pyro of Goodison’s farewell, Sorensen wore a mischievous grin.
—Megan Feringa, New York Times, 9 June 2025
See All Example Sentences for grin
Cite this Entry
“Grin.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/grin. Accessed 26 Jun. 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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