What does "smile" mean?

1. (facial expression) the expression you make by turning up the corners of your mouth to show you are happy or friendly. 2. (to make a smile) to move the corners of your mouth upwards because you are happy or think something is funny. 3. (to be favourable) to be lucky or to have things go well for you.

smile — meaning, definition & examples

Q: Is it correct to say "She smiled to me."?

No — say "She smiled at me.". When you direct a smile toward a person, use the preposition 'at'.

Word

01facial expression

A1 · Beginner Countable noun

n. the expression you make by turning up the corners of your mouth to show you are happy or friendly.

n. a facial expression formed by flexing the muscles at the ends of the mouth, typically indicating pleasure, amusement, or sociability.

“She had a big smile on her face when she saw her old friend.”

“A faint smile played across his lips as he recalled the humorous events of the previous evening.”

Synonyms

grin beam

Antonyms

frownscowl

02to make a smile

A1 · Beginner

v. to move the corners of your mouth upwards because you are happy or think something is funny.

v. to form a smile on the face; used both intransitively and transitively to express a specific emotion.

“The baby smiled at his mother for the first time today.”

“The receptionist smiled warmly at the guests, immediately putting them at ease after their long journey.”

Pitfall

She smiled to me.

She smiled at me.

When you direct a smile toward a person, use the preposition 'at'.

Synonyms

grin beam

Antonyms

frown

03to be favourable

C1 · Advanced Literary

v. to be lucky or to have things go well for you.

v. to be propitious or favourable toward someone; often used with 'on' or 'upon'.

“Fortune finally smiled on him, and he won the competition.”

“It seemed as though fate had smiled upon their venture, providing perfect weather and unexpected financial backing just when it was needed most.”

Usage

Usually takes the preposition 'on' or 'upon'.

Synonyms

favour bless

From Middle English smilen (“to smile”), from Middle Low German smîlen (“to smile”), from Middle High German smielen, from Old High German smielēn, from Proto-West Germanic smīlēn, from Proto-Germanic smīlāną (“to smile”), from Proto-Indo-European smey- (“to laugh, be glad, wonder”). Cognate with Danish smile, Swedish smila, Faroese smíla (“to smile”); also Saterland Frisian smielje (“to smile”), Low German smielen (“to smile”), Dutch smuilen (“to smile”), Middle High German smielen (“to smile”). Related also to Old High German smierōn (“to smile”), Old English smerian (“to laugh at”), Old English smercian, smearcian ("to smile"; > English smirk), Latin mīror (“to wonder at”).

Etymology adapted from Wiktionary, available under CC BY-SA 4.0.

NOUN

smile(A2)

Smiley(A2)

ADJECTIVE

smiling(A1)

cheer insincere laugh laughter mouth yay