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Collins Concise English Dictionary © HarperCollins Publishers::
wink at vb - (intransitive, preposition) to connive at; disregard: the authorities winked at corruption
wink1 /wɪŋk/USA pronunciation
v.
- to close and open (one eye) quickly, often as a hint or signal: [no object]She winked at me to let me know she understood.[~ + object]He winked his eye.
- to twinkle;
gleam on and off: [no object]A light winked in the distance.[~ + object]He winked the lights on and off.
- wink at, [~ + at + object] to deliberately ignore (wrongdoing):The police seemed to wink at minor violations of the law.
n. [countable]
- an act of winking.
- an instant:in the wink of an eye.
- the least bit:She didn't sleep a wink.
WordReference Random House Unabridged Dictionary of American English © 2026wink1
(wingk),USA pronunciation v.i.
- to close and open one or both eyes quickly.
- 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.
- (of the eyes) to close and open thus;
blink.
- to shine with little flashes of light;
twinkle:The city lights winked in the distance.
v.t. - to close and open (one or both eyes) quickly;
execute or give (a wink).
- to drive or force by winking (usually fol. by back or away):She attempted to wink back the tears.
- to signal or convey by a wink.
- wink at, to ignore deliberately, as to avoid the necessity of taking action:to wink at minor offenses.
n. - an act of winking.
- a winking movement, esp. of one eye in giving a hint or signal.
- a hint or signal given by winking.
- the time required for winking once;
an instant or twinkling:I'll be there in a wink.
- a little flash of light;
twinkle.
- the least bit:I didn't sleep a wink last night.
- bef. 900; (verb, verbal) Middle English winken, Old English wincian; cognate with German winken to wave, signal; (noun, nominal) Middle English: nap, derivative of the verb, verbal
1. Wink, blink refer to rapid motions of the eyelid. To wink is to close and open either one or both eyelids with a rapid motion. To blink suggests a sleepy, dazed, or dazzled condition in which it is difficult to focus the eyes or see clearly:Bright sun makes one blink. 4. sparkle.
wink2
(wingk),USA pronunciation n. [Games.]
- Gamesa disk or similar small object used in tiddlywinks.
- extracted from tiddlywinks 1890–95
'wink at' also found in these entries (note: many are not synonyms or translations):
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