smile

verb

\ ˈsmī(-ə)l

smiled; smiling

Definition of smile

(Entry 1 of 2)

intransitive verb

1 : to have, produce, or exhibit a smile

2a : to look or regard with amusement or ridicule smiled at his own folly— Martin Gardner

b : to bestow approval feeling that Heaven smiled on his labors— Sheila Rowlands

c : to appear pleasant or agreeable

transitive verb

1 : to affect with or by smiling

2 : to express by a smile

smile

noun

Definition of smile (Entry 2 of 2)

1 : a facial expression in which the eyes brighten and the corners of the mouth curve slightly upward and which expresses especially amusement, pleasure, approval, or sometimes scorn

2 : a pleasant or encouraging appearance

Other Words from smile Synonyms More Example Sentences Learn More about smile

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Other Words from smile

Verb

smiler noun

smilingly \ ˈsmī-liŋ-lē

\ adverb

Noun

smileless \ ˈsmī(-ə)l-ləs

\ adjective

Examples of smile in a Sentence

Verb

The photographer asked us to smile for the camera. She smiled when she saw him. Both parents smiled their approval.

Noun

He greeted me with a big smile.

Recent Examples on the Web: Verb

What begins as a faux feel-good Super Bowl ad complete with smiling Wives and cooing newborns turns grim. — Julie Kosin, Harper's BAZAAR, "The Handmaid's Tale Season 3 Trailer Dropped During the Super Bowl," 4 Feb. 2019 The couple spent the entire time smiling and whispering to each other, according to photos (finally! photos!). — Katherine J. Igoe, Marie Claire, "Literally Every Single Thing We Know About Katie Holmes and Jamie Foxx's Relationship," 28 Jan. 2019 None of this seemed to faze the president much, who posted a video on Thursday of himself and first lady Melania Trump smiling and shaking hands with troops at the Al Asad Air Base in Iraq, underscored with patriotic music. — Alexia Underwood, Vox, "Trump’s secret trip to Iraq didn’t quite go as planned," 27 Dec. 2018 In his last months, my aunt in London sent back photographs of him smiling and playing in parks to everyone, even us in the States. — Sadia Hassan, Longreads, "Silence is a Lonely Country: A Prayer in Twelve Parts," 13 July 2018 In the video, Bishop can be seen dancing at 12:45 a.m. June 2 at Mile High Spirits Distillery and Tasting Bar as onlookers crowd around, smiling and laughing. — Don Sweeney, sacbee, "Dancing FBI agent who shot man after backflip at Denver bar gets his gun back," 10 July 2018 Gomez was photographed in New York this morning smiling and wearing new hair extensions. — Allie Jones, The Cut, "Is Selena Gomez Okay?," 10 July 2018 The surly Patriots coach Bill Belichick will entertain the possibility of smiling. — Ben Cohen, WSJ, "If Goat Emojis Are Flooding Your Twitter Feed, Blame Tom Brady," 29 Jan. 2019 Throughout the past year, Erin and Ben have both shared many sweet snapshots showing their toddler smiling, snuggling with her daddy, and looking through books—including the one her parents' wrote, entitled Make Something Good Today. — Taysha Murtaugh, Country Living, "Everything We Know About Erin and Ben Napier's Baby, Helen," 8 Jan. 2019

Recent Examples on the Web: Noun

As part of the announcement, Kunakey shared a snap of herself posing naked on the beach complete with a megawatt smile, salty strands, and a bare bump peeking out from beneath the supersized straw hat in hand. — Lauren Valenti, Vogue, "This French Model’s Beach Snaps Are Pregnancy Body Confidence at Its Finest," 1 Feb. 2019 Back when the Independent covered Icke’s 2011 tour, many journalists were able to observe Icke’s popularity with a bemused smile: Look how funny, people actually believe this nut. — Constance Grady, Vox, "The Alice Walker anti-Semitism controversy, explained," 20 Dec. 2018 The bizarre moment prompted smiles, laughter, and applause from all of her co-hosts — especially Meghan McCain. — Kayla Keegan, Good Housekeeping, "'The View' Star Meghan McCain Completely Lost It Over Whoopi Goldberg's Epic Rant on Thursday," 30 Nov. 2018 The first official photos of the now-Duke and Duchess of Sussex out together were filled with adorable PDA, cheeky smiles, and genuine warmth. — Amy Mackelden, Harper's BAZAAR, "How Meghan Markle's Life Has Changed in the Past Year," 25 Sep. 2018 Foles replied with a smile, the long fingers of his lanky, 6-foot-5, former basketball-playing frame swiping a Sharpie across page after page of stacks and stacks of books. — Maria Panaritis, Philly.com, "My 15 minutes with Nick Foles: He's really that special, and so is his memoir | Maria Panaritis," 30 June 2018 Be friendly, make eye contact, smile and shake hands with the interviewer. — James B. Nelson, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, "How to land a job at the new Milwaukee Bucks arena: Pro tips for Wednesday's jobs fair," 19 June 2018 Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu was all smiles, thanking Bolton profusely for the show of U.S. support. — John Hudson, The Seattle Times, "Many of Trump’s advisers tried to derail Syria withdrawal," 13 Jan. 2019 The two actors are all smiles in the pic, with Charles holding a hot drink, and Cami holding his arm. — De Elizabeth, Teen Vogue, "Camila Mendes and Charles Melton Wear Matching Bunny Hats in South Korea," 29 Dec. 2018

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'smile.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

History and Etymology for smile

Verb

Middle English smilen, going back to a Germanic verbal base *smil-, *smīl- (from earlier *smei̯l-) "smile," probably an extension with -l- of Indo-European *smei̯- "laugh, smile," whence Old Church Slavic smějǫ sę, smijati sę "to laugh," Latvian smeju, smiêt "to laugh, mock," Tocharian B smi- "smile," Sanskrit smáyate "(s/he) smiles," and with a -d- extension in Greek meidiáein "to smile," philomeidḗs "with a friendly smile," Latvian smaida "smile," smaidît "to smile, mock"

Note: The comparative set for this Germanic etymon do not show clear descent from a single form, perhaps due to its affective character. There is no attested Old English ancestor of Middle English smilen; a Scandinavian source has been suggested, but Danish smile "to smile" and Swedish smila, not attested before the 17th century, could be loans from an unattested Middle Low German verb. Old High German has smilenter (glossing Latin subridens "smiling"), with presumed long vowel, continued by Middle High German smielen. Kiliaen's 1599 Dutch dictionary enters smuylen "subridere," apparently with a different vocalism. Parallel to these are a group of forms with -r- rather than -l-: Old English smerian "to laugh, scorn," Old High German smierēn, smierōn (with e₂?) "to smile," Old English bismerian and Old High German bismerōn "to mock, insult," and, with different vocalism, Old English smǣr, smǣre "lip(s)," gālsmǣre "inclined to laugh, frivolous." The forms with -r- have been compared with Sanskrit (Vedic) á-smera- "not bashful, confiding," and particularly with Latin mīrus "remarkable, amazing," presumed to be derivative of a neuter *mīrum, going back to a noun *smei̯-ro- "laughter, smiling," (though a semantic shift from "laughter" to "astonishment" is questionable).