Wink definition | Dictionary.com

Synonyms

bat, twinkle, flash, flicker, glimmer, coruscate, glance, gleam, glint, glisten, glitter, scintillate

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Wink - 14 dictionary results

wink

1 [wingk]

–verb (used without object)

1.	to close and open one or both eyes quickly.

2.	to close and open one eye quickly as a hint or signal or with some sly meaning (often fol. by at): She winked at him across the room.

3.	(of the eyes) to close and open thus; blink.

4.	to shine with little flashes of light; twinkle: The city lights winked in the distance.

–verb (used with object)

5.	to close and open (one or both eyes) quickly; execute or give (a wink).

6.	to drive or force by winking (usually fol. by back or away): She attempted to wink back the tears.

7.	to signal or convey by a wink.

–noun

8.	an act of winking.

9.	a winking movement, esp. of one eye in giving a hint or signal.

10.	a hint or signal given by winking.

11.	the time required for winking once; an instant or twinkling: I'll be there in a wink.

12.	a little flash of light; twinkle.

13.	the least bit: I didn't sleep a wink last night.

—Verb phrase

14.	wink at, to ignore deliberately, as to avoid the necessity of taking action: to wink at minor offenses.

Origin:
bef. 900; (v.) ME winken, OE wincian; c. G winken to wave, signal; (n.) ME: nap, deriv. of the v.

Language Translation for : Wink

Spanish:

guiñar el ojo,

German:

blinzeln,

Japanese:

目くばせする

View 30 other languages »

wink

2 [wingk]

–noun Games.

a disk or similar small object used in tiddlywinks.

Origin:
1890–95; extracted from tiddlywinks

Dictionary.com Unabridged (v 1.1)
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2006.
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wink   (wĭngk) Pronunciation Key
v.   winked, wink·ing, winks

v.   intr.

To close and open the eyelid of one eye deliberately, as to convey a message, signal, or suggestion.
To close and open the eyelids of both eyes; blink. See Synonyms at blink.
To shine fitfully; twinkle: Harbor lights were winking in the distance.

v. tr.

To close and open (an eye or the eyes) rapidly.
To signal or express by winking.

1. The act of winking.
2. A signal or hint conveyed by winking.
The very brief time required for a wink; an instant.
A quick closing and opening of the eyelids; a blink.
A gleam or twinkle.
Informal A brief period of sleep.

Phrasal Verb(s):
wink at To pretend not to see: winked at corruption in the ministry.
wink out To come to a close; end.

[Middle English winken, to close one's eyes, from Old English wincian.]

The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2006 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
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wink (v.)

O.E. wincian "to nod, wink," from P.Gmc. *wenkanan (cf. Du. wenken, O.H.G. winkan, Ger. winken), a gradational variant of the root of O.H.G. wankon "to stagger, totter," O.N. vakka "to stray, hover," from PIE *weng- "to bend, curve." The meaning "close an eye as a hint or signal" is first recorded c.1100; that of "close one's eyes to fault or irregularity" first attested c.1480. The noun is recorded from 1303; meaning "very brief moment of time" is attested from 1585.

Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2001 Douglas Harper
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wink
noun
1.	a very short time (as the time it takes the eye to blink or the heart to beat); "if I had the chance I'd do it in a flash"
2.	closing one eye quickly as a signal
3.	a reflex that closes and opens the eyes rapidly [syn: blink]
verb
1.	signal by winking; "She winked at him"
2.	gleam or glow intermittently; "The lights were flashing" [syn: flash]
3.	briefly shut the eyes; "The TV announcer never seems to blink" [syn: blink]
4.	force to go away by blinking; "blink away tears"

WordNet® 3.0, © 2006 by Princeton University.
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wink

In addition to the idiom beginning with wink, also see forty winks; quick as a wink; sleep a wink.

The American Heritage® Dictionary of Idioms by Christine Ammer.
Copyright © 1997 by The Christine Ammer 1992 Trust. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company.
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wink (wĭngk)
v. winked, wink·ing, winks

To close and open the eyelid of one eye deliberately, as to convey a message, signal, or suggestion.
To close and open the eyelids of both eyes; blink.

n.
A quick closing and opening of the eyelids; a blink.

The American Heritage® Stedman's Medical Dictionary
Copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company.
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Main Entry: ¹wink
Pronunciation: 'wi[ng]k
Function: intransitive verb
: to close and open the eyelids quickly

Main Entry: ²wink
Function: noun
: a quick closing and opening of the eyelids :

BLINK

Merriam-Webster's Medical Dictionary, © 2002 Merriam-Webster, Inc.
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Wink, TX (city, FIPS 79768)
Location: (31.754119, -103.155647)
Population (2000): 919 (437 housing units)
Area: 1.135789 sq mi (land), 0.000000 sq mi (water)
Zip code(s): 79789

Wink, TX (CCD, FIPS 49594240)
Location: (31.736771, -103.140379)
Population (2000): 977 (464 housing units)
Area: 178.992062 sq mi (land), 0.172763 sq mi (water)
Zip code(s): 79789

U.S. Gazetteer, U.S. Census Bureau
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Wink

Wink\, v. i. [imp. & p. p. Winked; p. pr. & vb. n. Winking.] [OE. winken, AS. wincian; akin to D. wenken, G. winken to wink, nod, beckon, OHG. winchan, Sw. vinka, Dan. vinke, AS. wancol wavering, OHG. wanchal wavering, wanch?n to waver, G. wanken, and perhaps to E. weak; cf. AS. wincel a corner. Cf. Wench, Wince, v. i.]

1. To nod; to sleep; to nap. [Obs.] "Although I wake or wink." --Chaucer.

2. To shut the eyes quickly; to close the eyelids with a quick motion.

He must wink, so loud he would cry. --Chaucer.

And I will wink, so shall the day seem night. --Shak.

They are not blind, but they wink. --Tillotson.

3. To close and open the eyelids quickly; to nictitate; to blink.

A baby of some three months old, who winked, and turned aside its little face from the too vivid light of day. --Hawthorne.

4. To give a hint by a motion of the eyelids, often those of one eye only.

Wink at the footman to leave him without a plate. --Swift.

5. To avoid taking notice, as if by shutting the eyes; to connive at anything; to be tolerant; -- generally with at.

The times of this ignorance God winked at. --Acts xvii. 30.

And yet, as though he knew it not, His knowledge winks, and lets his humors reign. --Herbert.