Words / B2

GRIN/ɡrɪn/

A grin is a wide smile; as a verb, to smile that way: a nervous grin; grin at. Smile is the everyday twin; beam is stronger warmth. A nervous grin in the photograph is not proof of guilt. Mix-up: grim (already related); grain. Do not treat a grin in a still photo as a full motive in a write-up.

Meaning

A wide smile; as a verb, to smile that way.

Examples

• “A nervous grin in the photograph is not proof of guilt, the jury source said.”
• “He grinned at the result, which is the wide-smile verb sense.”

Good to know

a nervous / wide grin; grin at / with. Everyday: smile. Stronger: beam. Trap: grim / grain. Literature, media, and news. A wide smile, not a verdict.

Near in meaning

smile, beam

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