squint

adjective \ ˈskwint \

|Updated on: 31 Jul 2018

Examples: squint in a Sentence

Definition of squint

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

Origin and Etymology of squint

Middle English asquint

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First Known Use: 1579

in the meaning defined at sense 1

See Words from the same year

squint

verb

Definition of squint

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

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squinter

noun

—

squintingly

play \ˈskwin-tiŋ-lē\ adverb

See squint defined for English-language learners

See squint defined for kids

Examples of squint in a Sentence

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.

Recent Examples of squint from the Web

At the blockbuster plenary sessions, the chairs stretched so far back that even the most youthful Silicon Valley college dropouts-turned VC hoovers had to squint to see the action up in front.

— aarian marshall, WIRED, "Home From the Honeymoon, the Self-Driving Car Industry Faces Reality," 13 July 2018
After days trapped in darkened cattle cars, squinting into bright floodlights lining the tracks was almost unbearable.

— jay winik, WSJ, "Trump’s Critics Desecrate the Holocaust," 21 June 2018
Ghana gave my Bay Area eyes, squinting into a bright blue sky, a whole new palette, a landscape and architecture and people in clothes and rioted textures and colors.

— aaron gilbreath, Longreads, "Old In Art School," 20 June 2018
With these particular photos, Mann squints to see the men on the other side.

— cate mcquaid, BostonGlobe.com, "At PEM, Sally Mann stays outside the comfort zone," 12 July 2018
Be your own thesaurus and fact-checker, and squint with your ears at phrasing that comes off as aggressively neutral.

— michael andor brodeur, BostonGlobe.com, "The official language of the US? It’s euphemism.," 21 June 2018
An eye on conservation The sun shines so brightly in the aquarium’s new Caribbean Journey exhibit that squinting is required most times of the day.

— alex stuckey, San Antonio Express-News, "Texas State Aquarium doubles down on wildlife rescue, rehabilitation after Harvey," 3 June 2018
Photophobia can cause pain around the eye and squinting.

— lauren castle, azcentral, "Eye protection is just as important as sunscreen in the Arizona summer," 17 May 2018
But squint hard enough, and one can see how this 2018 KU team is a bit like 2016 Villanova.

— jesse newell, kansascity, "How KU's offense, in two years, became more like Villanova's | The Kansas City Star," 30 Mar. 2018

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.

First Known Use of squint

1599

in the meaning defined at intransitive sense 1a

See Words from the same year

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squint

noun

Definition of squint

1 : strabismus

2 : an instance of squinting

3 : hagioscope

—

squinty

play \ˈskwin-tē\ adjective

See squint defined for English-language learners

Examples of squint in a Sentence

Her gaze narrowed into a squint.

Recent Examples of squint from the Web

But for these new forms to emerge, Black artists will need to treat Asian culture as more than a squint, and Asians will need to dig further into Black culture than simply a strategic means to coolness.

— andrew chow, refinery29.com, "Let's Be Real: Asian And Black Artists Aren't "Celebrating" Each Other Through Hip-Hop," 22 May 2018
Their perma-squints are born of concentration, pressure and sunshine.

— paul daugherty, Cincinnati.com, "Doc: Patrick Reed’s fire, anger could lead him to glory," 7 Apr. 2018
But Cincinnati brings a next-level combination of meat and cheese to any Super Bowl (or holiday) spread in the form of [squints, clutches pearls] ... hanky-panks?

— katie vogel, Cincinnati.com, "It was a busy week in the news. Here's what you missed.," 2 Feb. 2018
People older than 32 thought squint, jingle, burlesque and pong were hilarious.

— jason daley, Smithsonian, "Bepob Over Here Nitwit: Study Identifies the Funniest Words in the English Language," 3 Aug. 2017
Those naturally wide eyes of Harrelson’s are a long way from the scowly LBJ squint, the one that revealed a politico of wily resolve and charismatic duplicity.

— michael phillips, idahostatesman, "Woody Harrelson tries on the prosthetic ears in ‘LBJ’," 2 Nov. 2017
Many fans showed outrage on social media Friday night as images immediately surfaced of Gurriel making an eye-squint gesture in the dugout after homering off of Darvish, who is half Japanese, during the Astros’ 5-3 win in Game 3.

— michael mcgough, sacbee, "World Series: Gurriel's suspension set for 2018; fans think that's too late | The Sacramento Bee," 28 Oct. 2017
The sun forced her eye into a squint and lit up her short red hair.

— joshua emerson smith, sandiegouniontribune.com, "After crackdown on tent city, homeless recount Hepatitis horror stories," 30 Sep. 2017
Felt, whom Neeson plays mostly via a series of grumpy squints and barely perceptible nose-twitches, begins to suspect something much darker could be afoot, going far beyond a botched attempt to bug the Democratic Party’s election headquarters.

— david sims, The Atlantic, "Mark Felt Tells a Familiar Tale of the Watergate Scandal," 26 Sep. 2017

First Known Use of squint

circa 1652

in the meaning defined at sense 1

See Words from the same year

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SQUINT Defined for English Language Learners

squint

verb

Definition of squint for English Language Learners

: to look at something with your eyes partly closed
: to cause (your eyes) to partly close
: to have a medical condition that makes your eyes unable to look in the same direction

squint

noun

Definition of squint for English Language Learners

: a condition in which you are looking at something with your eyes partly closed : an act of squinting
: a medical condition in which your eyes are unable to look in the same direction
: a quick look