grinned; grinning
: to draw back the lips so as to show the teeth especially in amusement or laughter
grinner
noun
plural grins
: a facial expression produced by grinning especially in pleasure or amusement
a happy grin
She grew into a nimble young girl of seven winters, a thoughtful girl with shining brown eyes and a wide grin …—
Louise Erdrich
Louise ErdrichI wanted to wipe the grin off his face [=make him stop smiling.]
Synonyms
Examples of grin in a Sentence
Verb
She continued to tease her brother, grinning wickedly.
grinned at the kids' fooling around in the pool
Recent Examples on the Web
Bill Goodykoontz, The Arizona Republic, 2 Nov. 2024
Gareth then grins and begins laughing, as guests also catch the unique entrance on their phones.
—Gordon G. Chang, Newsweek, 31 Oct. 2024
Natalie Neysa Alund, USA TODAY, 5 Nov. 2024
Smile 2 is unleashing its infectious grin on moviegoers across the country with a bloody successful debut.
—Shania Russell, EW.com, 20 Oct. 2024
See all Example Sentences for grin 
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to
show current usage.
Read More
Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors.
Send us feedback.
Verb
The crowd erupted into thunderous applause that lasted several seconds, and Rudolph grinned ear to ear, drawing a deep breath to compose herself.
—Bill Goodykoontz, The Arizona Republic, 2 Nov. 2024
Gareth then grins and begins laughing, as guests also catch the unique entrance on their phones.
—Gordon G. Chang, Newsweek, 31 Oct. 2024
Noun
In another mugshot posted online by the Cook County Sheriff's Office, Schmidt grins ear to ear.
—Natalie Neysa Alund, USA TODAY, 5 Nov. 2024
Smile 2 is unleashing its infectious grin on moviegoers across the country with a bloody successful debut.
—Shania Russell, EW.com, 20 Oct. 2024
See all Example Sentences for grin
Dictionary Entries Near grin
Cite this Entry
“Grin.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/grin. Accessed 26 Nov. 2024.
Copy CitationKids Definition
grin
verb
grinned; grinning
: to draw back the lips so as to show the teeth especially in laughter
grin
noun
Love words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
Share