blink Meaning, Definition & Usage

  1. noun a reflex that closes and opens the eyes rapidly
    nictitation; winking; eye blink; nictation; blinking; wink.
  2. verb briefly shut the eyes
    wink; nictitate; nictate.
    • The TV announcer never seems to blink
  3. verb force to go away by blinking
    wink; blink away.
    • blink away tears
  4. verb gleam or glow intermittently
    wink; winkle; flash; twinkle.
    • The lights were flashing

WordNet

Blink intransitive verb
Etymology
OE. blenken; akin to dan. blinke, Sw. blinka, G. blinken to shine, glance, wink, twinkle, D. blinken to shine; and prob. to D. blikken to glance, twinkle, G. blicken to look, glance, AS. blican to shine, E. bleak. See Bleak; cf. 1st Blench.
Wordforms
imperfect & past participle Blinked present participle & verbal noun Blinking
Definitions
  1. To wink; to twinkle with, or as with, the eye.
    One eye was blinking, and one leg was lame. Pope
  2. To see with the eyes half shut, or indistinctly and with frequent winking, as a person with weak eyes.
    Show me thy chink, to blink through with mine eyne. Shak.
  3. To shine, esp. with intermittent light; to twinkle; to flicker; to glimmer, as a lamp.
    The dew was falling fast, the stars began to blink. Wordsworth.
    The sun blinked fair on pool and stream . Sir W. Scott.
  4. To turn slightly sour, as beer, mild, etc.
Blink transitive verb
Definitions
  1. To shut out of sight; to avoid, or purposely evade; to shirk; as, to blink the question.
  2. To trick; to deceive. Scot. Jamieson.
Blink noun
Etymology
OE. blink. See Blink, v. i.
Definitions
  1. A glimpse or glance.
    This is the first blink that ever I had of him. Bp. Hall.
  2. Gleam; glimmer; sparkle. Sir W. Scott.
    Not a blink of light was there. Wordsworth.
  3. (Naut.) The dazzling whiteness about the horizon caused by the reflection of light from fields of ice at sea; ice blink.
  4. pl. Cf. Blencher. (Sporting) Boughs cast where deer are to pass, to turn or check them. Prov. Eng.

Webster 1913