grin
/ɡɹɪn/noun, verb
grin is spelled G-R-I-N: 4 letters and one syllable. It appears 3.9 times per million words in written English, the 13,127th most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). As a noun, grin means “A smile in which the lips are parted to reveal the teeth” (English Wiktionary, September 2026). The plural of grin is grins.
How many letters and syllables are in grin?
| Letters | 4: G-R-I-N |
|---|---|
| Syllables | 1 (from its American pronunciation) |
| In writing | 3.9 times per million words; the 13,127th most frequent word form |
| Wrong spellings searched | none measured in search |
| Same letters |
Sources: letters and syllables from the English Wiktionary's hyphenation or pronunciation and the CMU Pronouncing Dictionary; written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media); rhymes and same-letter words are computed by PlainSpell from its own word list.
How common is grin?
Grin appears 3.9 times per million words in written English, the 13,127th most frequent word form in the list.
Source: written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
How do you pronounce grin?
- /ɡɹɪn/
Grin has one syllable (counted from its American pronunciation in the CMU Pronouncing Dictionary).
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Recordings: En-us-grin.ogg, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).
What rhymes with grin?
No other word on PlainSpell ends in the same sounds as grin.
Spelled with the same letters in another order: ring.
Computed by PlainSpell from the pronunciations in the English Wiktionary (dump of September 2, 2026): a rhyme shares every sound from the last stressed vowel to the end; ordered by written frequency (wordfreq 3.1).
Forms of grin
- grins plural, present, singular, he/she/it
- grinning participle, present
- grinned participle, past
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
What does grin mean?
The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).
noun
- 1
A smile in which the lips are parted to reveal the teeth.
- 2
obsoleteA snare; a gin.
verb
- 1
To smile, parting the lips so as to show the teeth.
Why do you grin? Did I say something funny?
- 2
To express by grinning.
She grinned pleasure at his embarrassment.
- 3
datedTo show the teeth, like a snarling dog.
- 4
To grin as part of producing a particular facial expression, such as a smile or sneer.
He grinned a broad smile when I told him the result.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
How do you abbreviate grin?
Wiktionary records one abbreviation of grin: g.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Grin in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese
| Language | Words |
|---|---|
| French | sourire |
| German | Grinsen , grinsen |
| Portuguese | sorriso aberto , sorrir abertamente, arreganhar |
| Spanish | sonrisa abierta, sonrisa amplia , sonreír |
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Translations are Wiktionary's, by sense; a linked word has its own PlainSpell page.
Where does grin come from?
From Middle English grinnen, from Old English grennian, from Proto-West Germanic *grannjōn, from Proto-Germanic *granjōną. Related to groan. Compare to Middle High German grennen (“to mutter, complain”) and Danish grine (“to show one's teeth, to laugh”)
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).