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 Erdrich
I 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
Gustavo Arellano, Los Angeles Times, 23 Apr. 2026 Vince watched on a monitor, grinning. —Zach Helfand, New Yorker, 20 Apr. 2026
Ben Davis, The New York Review of Books, 25 Apr. 2026 His toothy grin and what appears to be a small scar on his face bear the unmistakable look of an 8-year-old. —Taijuan Moorman, USA Today, 23 Apr. 2026 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
As the others grinned and grimaced at their rivals’ responses, Becerra was as stone-faced as Buster Keaton. —Gustavo Arellano, Los Angeles Times, 23 Apr. 2026 Vince watched on a monitor, grinning. —Zach Helfand, New Yorker, 20 Apr. 2026
Noun
One untitled work from 1994 shows a strange monster—a guard bent over, gazing back at us between his own legs, his upside-down grin framed by his jackboots. —Ben Davis, The New York Review of Books, 25 Apr. 2026 His toothy grin and what appears to be a small scar on his face bear the unmistakable look of an 8-year-old. —Taijuan Moorman, USA Today, 23 Apr. 2026 See All Example Sentences for grin
Cite this Entry
“Grin.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.grautoblog.com/dictionary/grin. Accessed 27 Apr. 2026.
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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