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
Sloane Crosley, Travel + Leisure, 15 July 2025
In the first test, Retton grinned while failing to properly track the officer’s finger without moving her head.
—Caroline Price, Forbes.com, 9 July 2025
Chris Willman, Variety, 14 July 2025
The little prince's personality shone during the pageantry there, from flashing a genuine grin (showing off his missing front teeth) in the carriage procession and making sure to get the last wave when the royals departed the Buckingham Palace balcony.
—Janine Henni, People.com, 10 July 2025
See All Example Sentences for grin
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
One of them made eye contact with me, grinned, and winked.
—Sloane Crosley, Travel + Leisure, 15 July 2025
In the first test, Retton grinned while failing to properly track the officer’s finger without moving her head.
—Caroline Price, Forbes.com, 9 July 2025
Noun
It’s been compared to an Aphex Twin cover, with the big, evil grin.
—Chris Willman, Variety, 14 July 2025
The little prince's personality shone during the pageantry there, from flashing a genuine grin (showing off his missing front teeth) in the carriage procession and making sure to get the last wave when the royals departed the Buckingham Palace balcony.
—Janine Henni, People.com, 10 July 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 21 Jul. 2025.
Copy CitationKids Definition
grin
verb
grinned; grinning
: to draw back the lips so as to show the teeth especially in laughter
grin
noun
Love words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
Share