wink
/wɪŋk/ (bre, ipa) · /wɪŋk/ (ame, ipa) · /ˈwiŋk/ (ame, mw)
wink — verb
- winkpresent simple I / you / we / they
- winkshe / she / it
- winkedpast simple
- winking-ing form
1. to shut and open one eye fast, usually to send someone a private message — for e
to shut and open one eye fast, usually to send someone a private message — for example, that you are joking, that you find them attractive, or that the two of you share a secret.
Omar winked at his little brother to let him know the surprise was still secret.
wink at + person to signal shared knowledge
Élise winked across the table when her father started telling the same old joke.
wink across [place] for silent shared amusement
Caleb winked at the camera at the end of the music video.
Nila winked and tapped her nose, the family signal for keeping quiet.
Manuela winked at the waiter so he would bring the birthday cake out early.
文法句型
wink at someone
wink to show something
用法筆記
Subject is almost always a person. Often followed by 'at' + the person who receives the signal. The signal can mean shared joke, flirtation, agreement, or that something just said is not meant seriously.
常見錯誤
2. if a light or distant point of light winks, it shines and then goes dim or goes
if a light or distant point of light winks, it shines and then goes dim or goes out, again and again — for example, a small bulb on a machine, a faraway star, or the headlights of a car in the distance.
The red light on the smoke alarm winked every few seconds through the night.
subject = small indicator light on a device
Yael watched the city lights wink across the bay from the hotel balcony.
Stars winked above the desert as Hao set up the small telescope.
A green light winked on the modem to show the connection was working.
Folake saw a torch winking in the trees and called out to the missing hikers.
- glow
give off a steady, unbroken light
文法句型
lights wink
stars wink
用法筆記
Subject is usually an inanimate light source — a small bulb, a star, headlights at a distance, a torch. Distinguish from sense 1: that sense needs a person as subject; this sense rules out people.
常見錯誤
wink — noun
- winksingular
- winksplural
1. a quick closing and reopening of one eye, used as a small private message — most
a quick closing and reopening of one eye, used as a small private message — most often to mean 'we share a joke', 'I'm only teasing', or 'I find you attractive'.
Dylan gave the small boy a wink as he handed over the lost toy.
give someone a wink — most common collocation
With a wink, Christopher slid the last cookie onto his nephew's plate.
with a wink — short adverbial opener
Ingrid sent her sister a quick wink from the back of the wedding hall.
Emre's wink told everyone at the table that the ghost story was made up.
Rin answered the question with a small wink, refusing to spoil the secret.
文法句型
give someone a wink
with a wink
用法筆記
Almost always countable and used with 'a' or 'the'. Most common verb partners: 'give', 'send', 'exchange'. The preposition that follows is 'at' for the receiver (give a wink at the boy) but 'to' is also possible (send a wink to the boy).
常見錯誤
2. a tiny piece of time — about as long as it takes to close and open one eye. Most
a tiny piece of time — about as long as it takes to close and open one eye. Mostly used in the fixed phrases 'in a wink' and 'quick as a wink' to stress how fast something happens.
The cat was on the kitchen counter and gone again in a wink.
in a wink — fixed phrase meaning 'almost instantly'
Quick as a wink, Aaron caught the falling vase before it hit the floor.
quick as a wink — set comparative phrase
In the time of a wink, the magician's coin had moved to another hand.
The deal was done in a wink, and the keys changed hands on the doorstep.
Children grow up in a wink, the grandmother said as she folded the baby clothes.
- age
informal exaggeration for a long time
文法句型
in a wink
quick as a wink
用法筆記
Almost never used as a bare noun ('a wink of time' sounds odd). Lives in the set phrases 'in a wink' and 'quick as a wink'. Sense 1 (the eye signal) takes verbs like 'give'; this sense takes the prepositions 'in' or comparative 'as'.