noun
1.
an indirect, covert, or helpful suggestion; clue: Give me a hint as to his identity.
2.
a very slight or hardly noticeable amount; soupçon: a hint of garlic in the salad dressing.
3.
perceived indication or suggestion; note; intimation: a hint of spring in the air.
4.
Obsolete. an occasion or opportunity.
verb (used with object)
5.
to give a hint of: gray skies hinting a possible snowfall.
00:10
Hint
is one of our favorite verbs.
So is absquatulate. Does it mean:
| to flee; abscond: |
| to chew (food) slowly and thoroughly. |
verb (used without object)
6.
to make indirect suggestion or allusion; subtly imply (usually followed by at ): The article hinted at corruption in the mayor's office.
Origin:
1595–1605; (noun) orig., opportunity, occasion, apparently variant of obsolete hent grasp, act of seizing, derivative of the v.: to grasp, take, Middle English henten, Old English hentan; (v.) derivative of the noun
1595–1605; (noun) orig., opportunity, occasion, apparently variant of obsolete hent grasp, act of seizing, derivative of the v.: to grasp, take, Middle English henten, Old English hentan; (v.) derivative of the noun
Related forms
hint·er, noun
un·hint·ed, adjective
Synonyms
1. allusion, insinuation, innuendo; memorandum, reminder; inkling. 5. imply. Hint, intimate, insinuate, suggest denote the conveying of an idea to the mind indirectly or without full or explicit statement. To hint is to convey an idea covertly or indirectly, but intelligibly: to hint that one would like a certain present; to hint that bits of gossip might be true. To intimate is to give a barely perceptible hint, often with the purpose of influencing action: to intimate that something may be possible. To insinuate is to hint artfully, often at what one would not dare to say directly: to insinuate something against someone's reputation. Suggest denotes particularly recalling something to the mind or starting a new train of thought by means of association of ideas: The name doesn't suggest anything to me.
1. allusion, insinuation, innuendo; memorandum, reminder; inkling. 5. imply. Hint, intimate, insinuate, suggest denote the conveying of an idea to the mind indirectly or without full or explicit statement. To hint is to convey an idea covertly or indirectly, but intelligibly: to hint that one would like a certain present; to hint that bits of gossip might be true. To intimate is to give a barely perceptible hint, often with the purpose of influencing action: to intimate that something may be possible. To insinuate is to hint artfully, often at what one would not dare to say directly: to insinuate something against someone's reputation. Suggest denotes particularly recalling something to the mind or starting a new train of thought by means of association of ideas: The name doesn't suggest anything to me.
Antonyms
5. express, declare.
5. express, declare.
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2013.
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Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2013.
Cite This Source
|
Link To hint
Collins
World English Dictionary
hint (hɪnt) ![[Click for IPA pronunciation guide]](http://static.sfdict.com/dictstatic/g/d/dictionary_questionbutton_default.gif) | |
| —n | |
| 1. | a suggestion or implication given in an indirect or subtle manner: he dropped a hint |
| 2. | a helpful piece of advice or practical suggestion |
| 3. | a small amount; trace |
| —vb (when intr, | |
| 4. | to suggest or imply indirectly |
| [C17: of uncertain origin] | |
| 'hinter | |
| —n | |
| 'hinting | |
| —n | |
| 'hintingly | |
| —adv | |
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 10th Edition
2009 © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009
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2009 © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009
Cite This Source
Etymonline
Word Origin & History
hint
1604, from obsolete hent, from O.E. hentan "to seize," from P.Gmc. *khantijanan (cf. Goth. hinþan "to seize"), related to hunt. Modern sense and spelling first attested in Shakespeare.
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper
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FOLDOC
Computing Dictionary
HINT definition
Hierarchical Information NeTs.
A language for the CDC 3600.
["HINT: A Graph Processing Language", R.D. Hart, Michigan State U, Apr 1970].
(1994-12-07)
American Heritage
The American Heritage® Dictionary of Idioms by Christine Ammer.
Copyright © 1997. Published by Houghton Mifflin.
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Copyright © 1997. Published by Houghton Mifflin.
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Example sentences
The speck of comfort for some is the hint that the predicament of the budget airlines could be worse still.
And do be sure to include that helpful hint during orientation.
Crisp green apple, pear, and cherry with a hint of peach and sprinkling of fresh herbs.
Experiments hint at a subtle difference between them that may explain why antimatter is so rare.
Idioms & Phrases
Nearby Words
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