wink
- 01 B1 Intermediate
v.to quickly close and open one eye as a secret signal to someone.
v.to close and open one eyelid rapidly as a signal of shared knowledge, affection, or suggestion.
Simple“He winked at me from across the room to show he was joking.”
In context“The witness winked at his lawyer during the cross-examination, suggesting that the previous statement had been a deliberate exaggeration.”
UsageOften used with 'at' to indicate the recipient of the signal.
- 02 B2 Upper Intermediate
v.to shine with a light that goes on and off quickly.
v.to shine or gleam intermittently; to flicker or twinkle.
Simple“The distant lights of the city winked in the dark night.”
In context“The lighthouse beam winked rhythmically on the horizon, providing a steady guide for the ships navigating the treacherous coastal waters.”
- 03 C2 Proficiency
v.to pretend not to see something bad that is happening.
v.to deliberately overlook or ignore an occurrence, typically something illicit or improper.
Simple“The guards were paid to wink at the smuggling happening at the docks.”
In context“Historians argue that the local authorities chose to wink at the illegal trade because it provided the only source of income for the starving village.”
UsageAlmost always used in the phrase 'wink at'.
Antonyms - 04 B1 Intermediate
n.the act of closing and opening one eye quickly.
n.an instance of winking used as a gesture or signal.
Simple“She gave me a quick wink to let me know she was just kidding.”
In context“A subtle wink from the auctioneer confirmed that the secret bid had been accepted without alerting the other participants.”
- 05 B2 Upper Intermediate
n.a very short period of sleep.
n.a brief moment of sleep; most commonly found in the idiom 'forty winks'.
Simple“I didn't get a wink of sleep because the neighbors were so loud.”
In context“After a long flight, he managed to catch forty winks in the taxi before his first meeting of the day.”
UsageCommonly used in the negative 'not a wink' to mean no sleep at all.
From Middle English wynken, from Old English wincian (“to wink, make a sign, close the eyes, blink”, weak verb), from Proto-West Germanic winkōn (“to close one's eyes”), from Proto-Indo-European weng- (“to bow, bend, arch, curve”). Cognate with Middle Low German winken (“to blink, wink”), German winken (“to nod, beckon, make a sign”). Related also to Saterland Frisian wäänke, Dutch wenken (“to beckon, motion”), Latin vacillare (“sway”), Lithuanian véngti (“to swerve, avoid”), Albanian vang (“tire, felloe”), Sanskrit वङ्गति (vaṅgati, “(he, she) limps”), French guigner (“to eye, sneak a look at”).
Clipping of tiddlywink.
Clipping of periwinkle.
Etymology adapted from Wiktionary, available under CC BY-SA 4.0.