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blink
[ blingk ]
verb (used without object)
- to close and reopen the eyes, especially involuntarily:
Every time I blink, it makes the cut on my eyelid hurt.
- to look with half-shut eyes or rapidly closing and opening eyes:
I blinked at the harsh morning light.
- to be startled, surprised, or dismayed (usually followed by at ):
She blinked at his sudden fury.
- to look evasively or with indifference; ignore (often followed by at ):
to blink at another's eccentricities.
- to shine unsteadily, dimly, or intermittently; twinkle; flicker:
The light on the buoy blinked in the distance.
- to yield or back down from a confrontation:
All eyes are on the two nations' standoff, waiting to see who blinks.
verb (used with object)
- to close and reopen (the eye or eyes), usually rapidly, repeatedly, or involuntarily;
She blinked her eyes in an effort to wake up.
- to cause (something) to twinkle or shine intermittently:
We blinked the flashlight frantically, but there was no response.
- Rare. to ignore deliberately; evade; shirk:
Although deaths continue to rise, the authorities have blinked the problem.
noun
- an act or instance of closing and reopening the eyes, especially repeatedly or involuntarily:
She claimed not to be startled, but her blink betrayed her.
- the act or condition of flickering, twinkling, or shining intermittently:
The faithful blink of the lighthouse comforted the crew.
- a gleam; glimmer:
There was not a blink of light anywhere.
- Chiefly Scot. a glance or glimpse.
- Meteorology.
blink
/ blɪŋk /
verb
- to close and immediately reopen (the eyes or an eye), usually involuntarily
- intr to look with the eyes partially closed, as in strong sunlight
- to shine intermittently, as in signalling, or unsteadily
- tr; foll by away, from, etc to clear the eyes of (dust, tears, etc)
- whentr, usually foll by at to be surprised or amazed
he blinked at the splendour of the ceremony
- whenintr, foll by at to pretend not to know or see (a fault, injustice, etc)
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Word History and Origins
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Word History and Origins
Origin of blink1
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Idioms and Phrases
- on the blink, not in proper working order; in need of repair:
The washing machine is on the blink again.
More idioms and phrases containing blink
see on the blink .Discover More
Synonym Study
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Example Sentences
Now it can happen in the blink of an eye—just look at former House majority leader Eric Cantor.
He was unable to speak, and the woman asked him to blink once for yes, twice for no in reply to some questions.
In the blink of an eye, the hipster has turned into a catch-all scapegoat, guilty for everything from expensive beer to bad music.
Technology that stealthily decimates in the blink of an eye, that is what is what Israel needs in the Twenty-First Century.
Efron, in a blink, went from shy concealment to peacock-ish display.
I had to blink hard two or three times before I could really make up my mind that the tip-toer was Maisie Ann.
Then, in the blink of an eye, Arcot was floating in the air before him.
Stevens' eyes blinked, and in that blink Ben charged, and as he moved, Murray and Tholfsen followed.
And it is this same white water which gives rise to the phenomenon above referred to, locally known as “Bank Blink.”
Behind it was a continuous ice-blink and on our left, to the north, a deep blue "water sky."
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Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
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