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
Matthew Fairburn, New York Times, 11 May 2026
Attenborough grins, laughs and is speechless with delight.
—ABC News, 8 May 2026
Paloma Chavez, PEOPLE, 21 May 2026
One way might be to hone a single, perfect statement—something narrow and vicious, a shiv to the ribs of the world that cheered your demise as your rival threw a Cheshire Cat grin at you from the Super Bowl halftime show.
—Jayson Greene, Pitchfork, 18 May 2026
See All Example Sentences for grin
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Verb
Before the team left for Montreal, Helenius was grinning from ear to ear talking about the experience of practicing with the Sabres at this time of year.
—Matthew Fairburn, New York Times, 11 May 2026
Attenborough grins, laughs and is speechless with delight.
—ABC News, 8 May 2026
Noun
In a video posted by a game-goer, William could be seen rejoicing during the game and even giving a fellow soccer fan a rowdy thumbs up, accompanied by a grin.
—Paloma Chavez, PEOPLE, 21 May 2026
One way might be to hone a single, perfect statement—something narrow and vicious, a shiv to the ribs of the world that cheered your demise as your rival threw a Cheshire Cat grin at you from the Super Bowl halftime show.
—Jayson Greene, Pitchfork, 18 May 2026
See All Example Sentences for grin
Cite this Entry
“Grin.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/grin. Accessed 24 May. 2026.
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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