squint

1 of 3

adjective

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 adverb

squint

3 of 3

noun

1
2
: an instance of squinting
3
squinty 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
Multiple activists and at least one police officer were seen squinting, rubbing their faces and pouring water over their eyes. Dave Boucher, Detroit Free Press, 8 Oct. 2024 No one wants to squint at a screen full of text, especially on a smaller device like a laptop, tablet, or phone. William Arruda, Forbes, 8 Oct. 2024 Guests wandered the exhibits with flutes of champagne in hand, musing over the commercial value of art, squinting at price tags higher than at least one attendees' annual salary. Lizz Schumer, Peoplemag, 13 Sep. 2024 Trump, who had been listening with his eyes squinted, raised his eyebrows at that line. Seema Mehta, Los Angeles Times, 10 Sep. 2024 See all Example Sentences for squint 

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'squint.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

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

Time Traveler
The first known use of squint was in 1579

Dictionary Entries Near squint

Cite this Entry

“Squint.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/squint. Accessed 31 Oct. 2024.

Kids Definition

squint

1 of 2 verb
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
1
: to be cross-eyed
2
: to look or peer with eyes partly closed

squint

2 of 2 noun
1
2
: an instance or habit of squinting
Love words? Need even more definitions?

Subscribe to America's largest dictionary and get thousands more definitions and advanced search—ad free!