I. ˈbliŋk verb
( -ed/-ing/-s )
Etymology: Middle English blinken to open one's eyes; probably akin to Middle Dutch & German blinken to glitter, shine, Old High German blanch shining, bright, white — more at blank
intransitive verb
1.
a. obsolete : to look glancingly : peep , glance
b. : to look with half-shut winking eyes (as when roused from sleep or dazzled by strong light)
seated in her obscure corner blinking at the fire
the glare on the snow made us blink
c. : to open and shut the eye repeatedly or rapidly : wink involuntarily
one eye blinking and twitching
2. of light or a source of light
a. : to shine intermittently : flicker , twinkle
b. : to shine dimly or uncertainly
sun blinking through the strands of fog
3.
a. : to look evasively : look with ignoring or condoning — usually used with at
modern popular philosophy blinks at these facts — M.R.Cohen
b. : to look with surprise : become startled, amazed, or dismayed — used with at
a professional statistician might blink at the methods though the results seem reasonable
transitive verb
1. obsolete : to cause to sour : make sour (as milk or beer)
2. of a sporting dog : to refuse to see and point (game)
his dog blinked the first bevy of the day
3.
a. : to close and open (the eye) involuntarily : wink
he blinked his tired eyes
b. : to remove (as tears) from the eye by blinking
4. chiefly Scotland : to put the evil eye on : bewitch
5.
a. : to deny recognition to : deliberately evade : ignore — often used in negative constructions
there was no blinking the fact that she had been worried — Helen Howe
or with away
truths that at the turn of the century were firmly blinked away — Saturday Review
b. : to be aware of : recognize
if we blink the truth we must admit our share of responsibility
6.
a. : to cause to emit flashes or twinkles of light
he blinked his flashlight to show us the way
b. : to signal by a blinker
II. noun
( -s )
1. chiefly Scotland : glimpse , glance
a view on a bit of empty road, houses, and a blink of sea — R.L.Stevenson
2.
a. : a brief show of light : gleam , glimmer , sparkle
a blink of bright flame
b. : a brief period of time : instant , moment , trice
3. : an involuntary shutting and opening of the eye : winking
4. dialect : milk that is slightly sour
5.
a. : a whitish or mottled appearance of the sky about the horizon caused by the reflection of light from an ice field or from scattered ice — compare iceblink
b. : a dark appearance of the sky about the horizon caused by the absence of reflected light due to open water — compare water sky
•
- on the blink
III. adjective
: blink-eyed
IV. noun
( -s )
Etymology: by shortening
: blinker 3