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
Eric Kohn, The Hollywood Reporter, 6 Jan. 2025
Both chimps and pop stars are prone to destroying furniture and grinning while ripping off your face.
—Amy Nicholson, Los Angeles Times, 24 Dec. 2024
India Espy-Jones, Essence, 6 Jan. 2025
Meanwhile, Smile 2 reignites the disturbing thrills of the first movie, in which a demonic presence transfers itself to a new host by forcing the previous one into suicide while staring its target in the face with a devious grin.
—Eric Kohn, The Hollywood Reporter, 6 Jan. 2025
See all Example Sentences for grin 
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Verb
Both movies feature a killer clown, but while Joaquin Phoenix’s grinning menace suffers from delusions of grandeur and an unspecified mental illness, the hideous ghoul from hell in Terrifier known as Art hacks away at his victims with no discernible motivation beyond the grisly acts themselves.
—Eric Kohn, The Hollywood Reporter, 6 Jan. 2025
Both chimps and pop stars are prone to destroying furniture and grinning while ripping off your face.
—Amy Nicholson, Los Angeles Times, 24 Dec. 2024
Noun
Sheryl Lee Ralph’s sculpted rouge gave her cheekbones a lift, while Kerry Washington’s circular pink blush exaggerated her grin.
—India Espy-Jones, Essence, 6 Jan. 2025
Meanwhile, Smile 2 reignites the disturbing thrills of the first movie, in which a demonic presence transfers itself to a new host by forcing the previous one into suicide while staring its target in the face with a devious grin.
—Eric Kohn, The Hollywood Reporter, 6 Jan. 2025
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 18 Jan. 2025.
Copy CitationKids Definition
grin
verb
grinned; grinning
: to draw back the lips so as to show the teeth especially in laughter
grin
noun
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