wink at

phrasal verb

winked at; winking at; winks at

: to pretend not to have seen or noticed (something) : to ignore

The city cops wink at the mayor's parking violations.

Examples of wink at in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

Artworks wink at one another from across decades and continents, like the geometric Lakota beadwork painting by Dyani White Hawk from 2022 hanging amid constructivist compositions by László Moholy-Nagy and Nadia Léger originally made a century earlier. —Kriston Capps, Washington Post, 10 Apr. 2024

Maybe this is writer-director Derek Estlin Purvis’ way of winking at the audience. —Joe Leydon, Variety, 8 Mar. 2024

In addition to winking at the reader, this passage helps to unlock a novelistic ethics. —Katy Waldman, The New Yorker, 6 Mar. 2024

Observers initially wondered if the move would result in a user revolt, since Netflix initially winked at password sharing and was more interested in viewer numbers. —Bychris Morris, Fortune, 1 Feb. 2024

James’s epigraph is a snapshot of songs from the notebook of Daniel Decatur Emmett, a founder of the first blackface minstrel troupe, a wink at how Jim will play his intelligence to survive amidst his white counterparts. —Vulture, 2 Jan. 2024

Is the woman winking at the drummer between sips of her Chardonnay his mother, girlfriend or principal? —Jenn Harris, Los Angeles Times, 18 Mar. 2024

Cocktails wink at the tropics of Vietnam with spirits made from sugar cane and agave, like rums and tequilas, blended with tropical fruits, such as hibiscus, pineapple and tamarind. —Detroit Free Press, 6 Mar. 2024

Daughter Weslie, 15, stood beside her mom, placing a hand on her 7-year-old brother Maddox's shoulder, who winked at the camera. —Hannah Sacks, Peoplemag, 4 Mar. 2024