winked; winking; winks
1
: to shut one eye briefly as a signal or in teasing
2
: to close and open the eyelids quickly
3
: to avoid seeing or noting something
—usually used with at
4
: to gleam or flash intermittently : twinkle
her glasses winking in the sunlight—
Harper Lee
Harper Lee5
a
: to come to an end
—usually used with out
b
: to stop shining
—usually used with out
6
: to signal a message with a light
1
: to cause to open and shut
2
: to affect or influence by or as if by blinking the eyes
Examples of wink in a Sentence
Verb
He winked and said that he understood.
She winked at me as she asked what I was doing tonight.
She winked an eye at me.
The puppy was winking in the bright sun.
The stars winked in the night sky.
The airplane's landing lights winked on and off.
Noun
Her wink told me she was just kidding.
“I knew you could do it,” he said with a wink.
Recent Examples on the Web
Julie Swarstad Johnson, Scientific American, 18 Mar. 2025
The two paid a winking homage to the movie’s breakup scene, in which Segel gets dumped by Bell’s TV starlet character while fully nude.
—Natalie Oganesyan, Deadline, 23 Feb. 2025
Caroline Rogers, Southern Living, 20 Mar. 2025
The State didn't offer her a single thing, no agreement to dismiss her charges, no cooperation agreement, no nudge nudge, wink wink — none of it.
—Peter Van Sant, CBS News, 8 Mar. 2025
See All Example Sentences for wink
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to
show current usage.
Read More
Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors.
Send us feedback.
Verb
In time’s deeps, everything begins to engulf us, red galaxies winking from the end.
—Julie Swarstad Johnson, Scientific American, 18 Mar. 2025
The two paid a winking homage to the movie’s breakup scene, in which Segel gets dumped by Bell’s TV starlet character while fully nude.
—Natalie Oganesyan, Deadline, 23 Feb. 2025
Noun
Beyond the entrance, flashes of pink wink beneath the trees.
—Caroline Rogers, Southern Living, 20 Mar. 2025
The State didn't offer her a single thing, no agreement to dismiss her charges, no cooperation agreement, no nudge nudge, wink wink — none of it.
—Peter Van Sant, CBS News, 8 Mar. 2025
See All Example Sentences for wink
Cite this Entry
“Wink.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/wink. Accessed 1 Apr. 2025.
Copy CitationKids Definition
Love words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
Share