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 WebPeter Rainer, The Christian Science Monitor, 29 Feb. 2024
Wallen faces three felony counts of reckless endangerment, as well as a disorderly conduct charge, according to Nashville police, who posted a grinning mug shot of the 30-year-old chart-topper on X.
—Avi Selk, Washington Post, 8 Apr. 2024
See all Example Sentences for grin 
Verb
Villeneuve is adept at staging grand-scale battles, but the movie’s best set piece is the climactic tooth-and-nail face-off between Paul and this grinning gargoyle.
—Peter Rainer, The Christian Science Monitor, 29 Feb. 2024
Wallen faces three felony counts of reckless endangerment, as well as a disorderly conduct charge, according to Nashville police, who posted a grinning mug shot of the 30-year-old chart-topper on X.
—Avi Selk, Washington Post, 8 Apr. 2024
See all Example Sentences for grin
These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'grin.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.
Dictionary Entries Near grin
Cite this Entry
“Grin.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/grin. Accessed 3 May. 2024.
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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