squint

adjective

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\ ˈskwint

Definition of squint

(Entry 1 of 3)

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

verb

squinted; squinting; squints

Definition of squint (Entry 2 of 3)

intransitive verb

1a : to have an indirect bearing, reference, or aim

b : to deviate from a true line

2a : 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

squint

noun

Definition of squint (Entry 3 of 3)

1 : strabismus

2 : an instance of squinting

3 : hagioscope

Other Words from squint Example Sentences Learn More about squint

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Other Words from squint

Verb

squinter noun

squintingly \ ˈskwin-tiŋ-lē

\ adverb

Noun

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 Clerks typically squint at the photo ID and look befuddled — the card is written in German. — Curt Brown, Star Tribune, "Zumbrota POW veteran, among the last from WWII, still strong at 97," 16 Jan. 2021 Lenses with a shorter focal length enabled Galileo to squint at insects as well as planets. — 1843, "How stargazing could save your life," 2 July 2020 For our coronavirus tracker and more coverage, see our hub AS BLEARY-EYED Europeans squint in the sun, freshly released from coronavirus lockdowns, worries about a second wave of infections are on everybody’s mind. — The Economist, "Herd on the street Is Sweden’s approach to covid-19 wise or reckless?," 16 May 2020 Camas squinted in the bright light of the sun as healthcare workers applauded his release. — Gilad Thaler, CBS News, "Inside the "Red Zone" of a New York hospital on the front lines of the coronavirus pandemic," 12 May 2020 But since Mitchel’s death, the island—a British Overseas Territory—has squinted in the harsh glare of international media. — Ezra Marcus, Town & Country, "How Scott Hapgood's Case Caught the Attention of President Trump," 15 Oct. 2019 Some shots seem to be from the perspective of a voyeur, standing in a dark room, squinting through a house plant to peep at what’s happening yonder. — Casey Gerald, The New York Review of Books, "Heat, Haunting & Heartache: A Young Filmmaker’s Louisiana," 7 Mar. 2020 Trained to identify counterfeit money, Orefice, who makes about $35,000 a year, held the larger bills up and squinted into the afternoon sun to check for the telltale presidential outlines that verify their authenticity. — Washington Post, "‘Everything has to move on’: As Md. bridges, tunnels go cashless, toll collectors look beyond the booth," 1 Jan. 2020 Looking through the small windshield is like perpetually squinting. — David Beard, Car and Driver, "2020 Mercedes-AMG GT Is All About That Base," 19 Feb. 2020 Recent Examples on the Web: Noun The whole sculpture invites you to lean closer, to peer through the tea-bag curtains and squint at the sign—only to encounter a message that is a declaration of absence, an ironic claiming of the very leisure time that prison makes impossible. — Leslie Jamison, The Atlantic, "The Breathtaking Ingenuity of Incarcerated Artists," 7 Feb. 2021 While Westerners trying to describe smells tend to hem and haw and squint into space, searching for descriptors, speakers of these languages are declarative and decisive. — New York Times, "What Can Covid-19 Teach Us About the Mysteries of Smell?," 28 Jan. 2021 He's got the ex-con beard and hoodie and thousand-yard squint and is a bit of a mystery, although that might be giving him a little too much credit. — Lindsey Bahr, Star Tribune, "Review: Timberlake seeks redemption in formulaic 'Palmer'," 27 Jan. 2021 While the brush air might be welcoming, the sun beaming in your face can cause your eyes to squint. — Erika Hardison, USA TODAY, "16 of the most popular things to get from Michael Kors," 22 Oct. 2020 Why squint at a tiny phone when a PC and its large display could be used instead? — Mark Hachman, PCWorld, "Don't tell your kids that they can play Xbox games on their Chromebooks," 9 Oct. 2020 So each day and night, students gather outside, trickling into the different clusters with a wave or a squint of the eyes that hints at a masked smile. — USA Today, "'So much for honor': Despite COVID cases, college students threw Labor Day weekend of parties," 9 Sep. 2020 So much can be said with a look or a squint in a way that is pretty new for videogames, even for us. — Nick Romano, EW.com, "From games to TV, The Last of Us boss expands saga into new territory," 2 June 2020 Ba didn’t heed the mess while living and in death his mean squint goes right past it. — New York Times, "‘How Much of These Hills Is Gold,’ by C Pam Zhang: An Excerpt," 7 Apr. 2020

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

History and Etymology for squint

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.