squint

1 of 3

adjective

ˈskwint 

1

of an eye : looking or tending to look obliquely or askance (as with envy or disdain)

2

of the eyes : not having the visual axes parallel : crossed

squint

2 of 3

verb

squinted; squinting; squints

intransitive verb

1

a

: to have an indirect bearing, reference, or aim

b

: to deviate from a true line

2

a

: to look in a squint-eyed manner

b

: to be cross-eyed

c

: to look or peer with eyes partly closed

transitive verb

: to cause (an eye) to squint

squinter noun

squintingly

ˈskwin-tiŋ-lē 

adverb

squint

3 of 3

noun

1

: strabismus

2

: an instance of squinting

3

: hagioscope

squinty

ˈskwin-tē 

adjective

Examples of squint in a Sentence

Verb

She had to squint to read the small print.

He squinted through the haze of smoke.

I had to squint my eyes to focus on the tiny letters.

I noticed that he squints.

Noun

Her gaze narrowed into a squint.

Recent Examples on the Web

Verb

The house raises the lights, causing everyone to squint and the enchantment to break. —Jeff Weiss, HollywoodReporter, 12 June 2025

While tech companies have been throwing around impressive-sounding claims of superhuman performance in narrow tasks, business leaders and policymakers have been left squinting through the hype, trying to figure out what any of it actually means for the real world. —Bernard Marr, Forbes.com, 4 June 2025

Noun

Fuller suffered from a curvature of the spine, which made her slouch, and from myopia, which made her squint. —James Marcus, New Yorker, 2 June 2025

Downcast and out-of-sorts, but, if one squints, having a decent enough time. —Daniel D'addario, Variety, 20 Feb. 2025

Word History

Etymology

Adjective

probably aphetic form of earlier a squint, going back to Middle English a squynt, in the phrase beholden (loken) a squynt "to be cross-eyed, look obliquely," from a- a- entry 1 + squynt, of uncertain origin

Note: Middle English a squynt, asquint has been compared with Dutch schuin "aslant, slantingly, askew" (unknown in Middle Dutch, first attested as schuyn "transversus, obliquus" in the Dutch-Latin dictionary of Cornelis Kiliaan, 1599), though the nature of the relationship is unclear. (Dutch schuin is paralleled by Gronings [West Low German] schuun, Low German schün, hypothetically from Germanic *skeuni-.) The form asquint is attested early, already in the Ancrene Wisse (as an addition in one manuscript, British Library Cotton Nero A.14, mid-13th century), but if a putative early Middle Dutch [sχy:n], prior to the development of the diphthong, is the source, -squint seems an unlikely outcome. Variants without t (of skwyn "on a slant," askoyn, ascoign "askance") may have a more direct relationship to Dutch schuin.

Verb

derivative of squint entry 1

Noun

derivative of squint entry 2

First Known Use

Adjective

1579, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Verb

1599, in the meaning defined at intransitive sense 1a

Noun

circa 1652, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Phrases Containing squint

• squint-eyed

Rhymes for squint

• clint
• dint
• glint
• hint
• lint
• mint
• print
• quint
• quinte
• splint
• sprint
• stint

Kids Definition

squint

1 of 2 verb

ˈskwint 

1

a

: to look with a side glance (as in jealousy or disdain)

b

: to be cross-eyed

2

: to look or peer with eyes partly closed

squinter noun

squint

2 of 2 noun

1

: inability to direct both eyes to the same object due to a fault of the muscles of the eyeball

2

: the act or an instance of squinting

squinty

ˈskwint-ē

adjective

Medical Definition

squint

1 of 2 intransitive verb

ˈskwint 

1

: to be cross-eyed

2

: to look or peer with eyes partly closed

squint

2 of 2 noun

1

: strabismus

2

: an instance or habit of squinting