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 WebMeghan Montemurro, Chicago Tribune, 28 May 2024
The song plays as guests in boats pass among 240 dolls of many nations with identical faces — tiny can-can and folk dancers, mermaids and mariachi bands — plus Big Ben, the Taj Mahal and grinning farm animals.
—Anita Gates, New York Times, 26 May 2024
See all Example Sentences for grin 
Verb
Counsell, meanwhile, grinned in the visitors dugout as a cacophony of boos echoed within American Family Field.
—Meghan Montemurro, Chicago Tribune, 28 May 2024
The song plays as guests in boats pass among 240 dolls of many nations with identical faces — tiny can-can and folk dancers, mermaids and mariachi bands — plus Big Ben, the Taj Mahal and grinning farm animals.
—Anita Gates, New York Times, 26 May 2024
See all Example Sentences for grin
These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'grin.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.
Dictionary Entries Near grin
Cite this Entry
“Grin.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/grin. Accessed 31 May. 2024.
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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