What does winked mean?
Winked is the past tense and past participle of wink, a verb best known for describing the deliberate closing and reopening of one eye. A wink often communicates without words: it may be a playful sign between friends, a flirtatious gesture, a warning, or a subtle indication that something is being pretended. In another, less specific sense, someone winked when their eyes closed and opened quickly. The word can also appear in the established expression "wink at," meaning either to signal to someone or to deliberately pretend not to notice an issue. Compared with blinked, which is usually an ordinary or involuntary eye movement, winked often suggests intention and a communicative purpose. The word is familiar in both British and American English, though the broader, older sense of rapid blinking is now relatively uncommon.
verbWinked is the past tense and past participle of wink. It means to close one eye deliberately and then reopen it, often as a signal, and more generally to blink or rapidly open and close the eyes.
- Closed one eye deliberately and then reopened it as a signal or playful gesture.
- Closed and reopened the eyes rapidly, especially in the more general sense of blinking.
"She winked at him across the crowded room and slipped out."
"He winked and pretended not to notice the surprise party."
"The old dog winked in the bright sunlight before lying down again."
A wink can be a secret signal, a flirtatious tease, or a sly hint: sometimes less is said with one eye than with a whole conversation.
Reviewed by Deb Chak, Editor. AI-assisted content curated by RJS Tech Solutions LLP.
Where does winked come from?
The modern verb descends from Old English winkan, meaning to blink or close the eyes, and ultimately from a Germanic root associated with blinking or moving the eyes. It is cognate with German winken and Dutch winken, which can mean to signal, beckon, or wave. The specialized sense of using a wink as a silent signal developed from the older sense of closing and quickly reopening the eyes. The past form is regular, with the final consonant pronounced /t/ in "winked."
Related word forms
How winked is actually used
The deliberate one-eye signal is the dominant modern sense. The general blinking sense is less common and can sound old-fashioned or literary. The expression "wink at" can also mean to deliberately ignore or tacitly approve something.
Easily confused with winked
A wink is usually deliberate and can carry a signal or playful meaning, whereas a blink is primarily the rapid, often involuntary movement of closing and reopening both eyes.