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.]
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
Raechal Shewfelt, EW.com, 19 Apr. 2025
Avery sinks a couple of shots, grinning a crooked smile.
—Laura A. Bischoff, USA Today, 6 Apr. 2025
Lauryn Overhultz, FOXNews.com, 25 Apr. 2025
Now, the car was raring and ready to go, as Hawley encouraged my efforts with a wry grin.
—Michael Teo Van Runkle, Forbes.com, 23 Apr. 2025
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
On Friday, the White House's social media accounts posted a photo of Vaughn posing with a grinning President Trump behind the Resolute desk.
—Raechal Shewfelt, EW.com, 19 Apr. 2025
Avery sinks a couple of shots, grinning a crooked smile.
—Laura A. Bischoff, USA Today, 6 Apr. 2025
Noun
In a video that went viral on TikTok in February, he was seen with a huge grin on his face and rocking side-to-side while talking to attendees.
—Lauryn Overhultz, FOXNews.com, 25 Apr. 2025
Now, the car was raring and ready to go, as Hawley encouraged my efforts with a wry grin.
—Michael Teo Van Runkle, Forbes.com, 23 Apr. 2025
See All Example Sentences for grin
Cite this Entry
“Grin.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/grin. Accessed 28 Apr. 2025.
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