squint
/skwɪnt/
squint verb: to look with the eyes partly closed, as in bright sunlight, or as a threatening expression.
Verb
squint (third-person singular simple present squints, present participle squinting, simple past and past participle squinted)
- To look with the eyes partly closed, as in bright sunlight, or as a threatening expression.
- The children squinted to frighten each other.
- “A tight little craft,” was Austin’s invariable comment on the matron;[…]. ¶ Near her wandered her husband, orientally bland, invariably affable, and from time to time squinting sideways, as usual, in the ever-renewed expectation that he might catch a glimpse of his stiff, retroussé moustache.1907 August, Robert W[illiam] Chambers, chapter IX, in The Younger Set, New York, N.Y.: D. Appleton & Company, →OCLC
- To look or glance sideways.
- Synonyms:
- skew
- To look with, or have eyes that are turned in different directions; to suffer from strabismus.
- To have an indirect bearing, reference, or implication; to have an allusion to, or inclination towards, something.
- Yet if the following sentence means anything, it is a squinting toward hypnotism.1887, The Forum
- To be not quite straight, off-centred; to deviate from a true line; to run obliquely.
- To turn to an oblique position; to direct obliquely.
- to squint an eye
- Look askance.
- Congress clearly is squinting at the prospect of increased funding for the program.
Noun
squint (plural squints)
- An expression in which the eyes are partly closed.
- The look of eyes which are turned in different directions, as in strabismus.
- He looks handsome although he's got a slight squint.
- A quick or sideways glance; a short look; a peep.
- —And here she is, says Alf, that was giggling over the Police Gazette with Terry on the counter, in all her warpaint.
—Give us a squint at her, says I.1922 February 2, James Joyce, “[Episode 12: The Cyclops]”, in Ulysses, Paris: Shakespeare and Company […], →OCLC - "Better have a squint yourself," suggested Horace, withdrawing his implement and resigning the position. "Listening posts are more in your line by all accounts, inspector."1934, Ernest Bramah, The Bravo of London
- —And here she is, says Alf, that was giggling over the Police Gazette with Terry on the counter, in all her warpaint.
- A hagioscope.
- The angle by which the transmission signal is offset from the normal of a phased array antenna.
- An opening, often arched, through an internal wall of a church, providing an oblique view of the altar.
Adjective
squint
- Looking obliquely; having the vision distorted.
- askew, not level
squint meaning in Tamil, Urdu, Bengali and Telugu
squint in Tamil
- மாறுகண், வாக்குக்கண், ஒருக்கணித்துப் பார்த்தல்
squint in Urdu
- آڑا پن, منحرف, بھینگا پن, جھانک, نظر, ترچھی نظر
squint in Bengali
- চোখ কুঁচকানো, বাঁকা চোখে দেখা
squint in Telugu
- a squint, squinting
- మెల్ల mella
More languagesFewer languages
- squint in Malayalam
- കോങ്കണ്ണ് kōṅkaṇṇŭ
- squint in Kannada
- ಕುಡುನೋಟ, ಕೊಂಕುನೋಟ, ಮೆಳ್ಳಗಣ್ಣುಳ್ಳವನು, ಮಾಲುಗಣ್ಣ
- squint in Vietnamese
- nheo
Examples of squint in a sentence
- The sun was shining brightly, making me squint.
- She squinted myopically at the small print.
- The teacher squinted irritably at my illegible scrawlings.
Synonyms of squint
Forms of squint
| Verb | |
|---|---|
| third-person singular present | squints |
| present participle | squinting |
| past participle | squinted |
| past | squinted |
| Noun | |
| plural | squints |
Origin of squint
Derived from asquint (“obliquely, with a sidelong glance”).
Words formed from squint
Words that rhyme with squint
Questions about squint
- What does squint mean?
- Squint means to look with the eyes partly closed, as in bright sunlight, or as a threatening expression.
- What is squint in Tamil?
- Squint in Tamil is மாறுகண், வாக்குக்கண், ஒருக்கணித்துப் பார்த்தல். See Squint meaning in Tamil.
- What part of speech is squint?
- Squint can be a verb, a noun or an adjective.
- How do you pronounce squint?
- Squint is pronounced /skwɪnt/.
- What is the past tense of squint?
- The past tense of squint is squinted.
Words near squint in the dictionary
Source and license
Adapted from Wiktionary: squint (page history and authors); squint (Tamil Wiktionary) (page history and authors); squint (Urdu Wiktionary) (page history and authors); squint (Bengali Wiktionary) (page history and authors); మెల్ల (Telugu) (page history and authors); squint (Kannada Wiktionary) (page history and authors). Text available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 license. Word.ws reformatted the entry and added links. Wiktionary data of 2026-09-02.
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Pronunciation audio from Wikimedia Commons, each file under its own free license: LL-Q1860 (eng)-Vealhurl-squint.wav.
Cite this entry: “squint.” Word.ws, https://word.ws/squint. Based on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.