Link Centre Dictionary

blink

UK/ˈblɪŋk/ US/ˈblɪŋk/ fairly common slang uk
verb (3) noun (1)

verb

1.

briefly shut the eyes

  • “The TV announcer never seems to blink”
Synonyms
2.

force to go away by blinking

  • “blink away tears”
Synonyms
3.

gleam or glow intermittently

  • “The lights were flashing”
Synonyms

noun

1.

Origin

From Middle English blynken, blenken, from Old English *blincan (suggested by causative verb blenċan (“to deceive”); > English blench), from Proto-Germanic *blinkaną, a variant of *blīkaną (“to gleam, shine”). Cognate with Dutch blinken (“to glitter, shine”), German blinken (“to flash, blink”), Danish blinke (“to flash, twinkle, wink, blink”), Swedish blinka (“to flash, blink, twinkle, wink, blink”). Related to blank, blick, blike, bleak.

Phrases

  • before one can blink
  • blink first
  • blink of an eye
  • in a blink
  • in the blink of an eye
  • on the blink
  • one-blink town
  • water blink
  • without blinking an eye
  • without blinking an eyelash
  • without blinking an eyelid

Related words

Word family

Broader terms

Narrower terms

WordNet 2.1 (Princeton University). Wiktionary (CC BY-SA). CMU Pronouncing Dictionary. WordNet 2.1 Copyright Princeton University. All rights reserved. Wiktionary content is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike Licence.