Definition of 'hint'
Word forms: plural, 3rd person singular present tense hints
, present participle hinting
, past tense, past participle hinted
1. countable noun [oft NOUN that]
A hint is a suggestion about something that is made in an indirect way.
See take a hint
2. verb
If you hint at something, you suggest it in an indirect way.
She suggested a trip to the shops and hinted at the possibility of a treat of some
sort. [VERB + at]
4. singular noun
A hint of something is a very small amount of it.
Collins COBUILD Advanced Learner’s Dictionary. Copyright © HarperCollins Publishers
British English pronunciation
American English pronunciation
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Word Frequency
hint in British English
noun
verb
Collins English Dictionary. Copyright © HarperCollins Publishers
Derived forms
hinter (ˈhinter) noun
hinting (ˈhinting)
noun
hintingly (ˈhintingly)
adverb
Word origin
C17: of uncertain origin
Word Frequency
hint in American English
noun
1.
a slight indication of a fact, wish, etc.; indirect suggestion or piece of advice; intimation; covert allusion
a hint that we should leave
verb transitive
4.
to give a hint of; suggest indirectly; intimate
verb intransitive
5.
to make a hint or hints
SIMILAR WORDS: sugˈgest
Idioms:
Webster’s New World College Dictionary, 4th Edition. Copyright © 2010 by
Houghton Mifflin Harcourt. All rights reserved.
Derived forms
hinter (ˈhinter)
noun
Word origin
prob. var. of hentWord Frequency
hint in American English
(hɪnt)
noun
4. obsolete
an occasion or opportunity
transitive verb
5.
to give a hint of
gray skies hinting a possible snowfall
intransitive verb
SYNONYMS 1. allusion, insinuation, innuendo; memorandum, reminder; inkling. 5. imply. hint, intimate, insinuate, suggest denote the conveying of an idea to the mind indirectly or without full or explicit
statement. To hint is to convey an idea covertly or indirectly, but intelligibly: to hint that one would like a certain present; to hint that bits of gossip might be
true. To intimate is to give a barely perceptible hint, often with the purpose of influencing action:
to intimate that something may be possible. To insinuate is to hint artfully, often at what one would not dare to say directly: to insinuate something against someone's reputation. suggest denotes particularly recalling something to the mind or starting a new train of thought
by means of association of ideas: The name doesn't suggest anything to me. ANTONYMS 5. express, declare.6. (usually fol. by at)
to make indirect suggestion or allusion; subtly imply
The article hinted at corruption in the mayor's office
Most material © 2005, 1997, 1991 by Penguin Random House LLC. Modified entries © 2019
by Penguin Random House LLC and HarperCollins Publishers Ltd
Derived forms
hinter noun
Word origin
[1595–1605; (n.) orig., opportunity, occasion, appar. var. of obs. hent grasp, act of seizing, deriv. of the v.: to grasp, take, ME henten, OE hentan; (v.) deriv. of the n.]Examples of 'hint' in a sentence
hint
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In other languages
hint
British English: hint
/hɪnt/ NOUN
A hint is a suggestion about something that is made in an indirect way.
He gave a strong hint that the government were thinking of introducing tax concessions for mothers.
- American English: hint /ˈhɪnt/
- Arabic: تَلمِيح
- Brazilian Portuguese: dica
- Chinese: 暗示
- Croatian: nagovještaj
- Czech: náznak
- Danish: praj
- Dutch: hint
- European Spanish: insinuación
- Finnish: vihje
- French: indice idée
- German: Andeutung
- Greek: υπαινιγμός
- Italian: suggerimento
- Japanese: ヒント
- Korean: 힌트
- Norwegian: hint
- Polish: podpowiedź
- European Portuguese: dica
- Romanian: indiciu
- Russian: намек
- Latin American Spanish: insinuación
- Swedish: vink
- Thai: การบอกใบ้, เบาะแส
- Turkish: ima
- Ukrainian: натяк
- Vietnamese: ám chỉ
British English: hint
/hɪnt/ VERB
If you hint at something, you suggest it in an indirect way.
She suggested a trip to the shops and hinted at the possibility of a treat of some sort.
- American English: hint /ˈhɪnt/
- Arabic: يُلَمِّحُ إلَى
- Brazilian Portuguese: dar uma dica
- Chinese: 暗示
- Croatian: nagovijestiti
- Czech: naznačit
- Danish: antyde
- Dutch: een hint geven
- European Spanish: insinuar
- Finnish: vihjata
- French: laisser entendre
- German: andeuten
- Greek: υπαινίσσομαι
- Italian: suggerire
- Japanese: ほのめかす
- Korean: 암시하다
- Norwegian: hinte
- Polish: podpowiedzieć
- European Portuguese: dar uma dica
- Romanian: a face aluzie
- Russian: намекать
- Latin American Spanish: insinuar
- Swedish: antyda
- Thai: บอกใบ้
- Turkish: imada bulunmak
- Ukrainian: натякати
- Vietnamese: ám chỉ
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Definition of hint from the Collins English Dictionary
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