SMILE | Meaning In The Cambridge English Dictionary

Meaning of smile in English smilenoun [ C ] uk /smaɪl/ us /smaɪl/ Add to word list Add to word list B1 a happy or friendly expression on the face in which the ends of the mouth curve up slightly, often with the lips moving apart so that the teeth can be seen: Amy had a big/broad smile on her face. She has a nice smile. He winked and gave me a smile. It's nice to be able to bring a smile to people's faces (= make people smile).   Yuri_Arcurs/E+/GettyImages

• Slowly a smile spread across her face.
• There was the faintest trace of a smile on her lips.
• He tried to suppress a smile but felt the corner of his mouth twitch.
• She gave everyone a welcoming smile.
• The minister wore a confident smile throughout the interview.

Laughing and smiling

• a gleam in your eye idiom
• amused
• amusedly
• be all smiles idiom
• be in convulsions idiom
• be rolling in the aisles idiom
• burst
• crease
• dissolve
• giggle
• giggler
• gigglingly
• giggly
• mirthful
• mirthfully
• not know whether to laugh or cry idiom
• piss yourself (laughing) idiom
• quake
• rictus
• yuck

See more results »

Idiom

be all smiles smileverb uk /smaɪl/ us /smaɪl/ B1 [ I or T ] to make a happy or friendly expression in which the corners of your mouth curve up: He smiled and shook my hand. When he smiled at me I knew everything was all right. Esme's so cheerful - she's always smiling. I couldn't help smiling when I thought of how pleased she was going to be. He smiled politely as Mary apologized for her drunken friends. He smiled to himself as he thought about his new girlfriend. He smiled the smile of a man who knew victory was within reach. [ T ] to express or say something with a smile: He smiled his congratulations and left without another word. "Don't you worry about a thing. Everything's going to be just fine," smiled Robin reassuringly.

• She smiled affectionately at him.
• My mother smiled encouragingly at me as I went up on stage.
• He smiled fondly at the children.
• She looked up from her book and smiled at me.
• He smiled at me in a reassuring way.

Laughing and smiling

• a gleam in your eye idiom
• amused
• amusedly
• be all smiles idiom
• be in convulsions idiom
• be rolling in the aisles idiom
• burst
• crease
• dissolve
• giggle
• giggler
• gigglingly
• giggly
• mirthful
• mirthfully
• not know whether to laugh or cry idiom
• piss yourself (laughing) idiom
• quake
• rictus
• yuck

See more results »

Phrasal verb

smile on something/someone (Definition of smile from the Cambridge Advanced Learner's Dictionary & Thesaurus © Cambridge University Press)

smile | American Dictionary

smilenoun [ C ] us /smɑɪl/ Add to word list Add to word list an expression on the face in which the ends of the mouth curve up slightly, often with the lips moving apart so that the teeth can be seen, expressing esp. happiness, pleasure, amusement, or a friendly feeling: a big/happy/pretty smile a smile of joy/satisfaction/amusement We exchanged smiles as we passed in the hallway.

smiley

adjective us /ˈsmɑɪ·li/ infml He’s a very smiley, friendly baby. smileverb [ I/T ] us /smɑɪl/ to make a happy or friendly expression in which the ends of the mouth curve up slightly: [ I ] I couldn’t help smiling. [ I ] When he smiled at me, I knew everything was OK. [ I ] She smiled to herself. [ T ] He smiled a happy smile. (Definition of smile from the Cambridge Academic Content Dictionary © Cambridge University Press)

Examples of smile

smile There is an intricate co-ordination of pausing and looking within turns, followed by head-nods, smiles, and gazes. From the Cambridge English Corpus The publisher smiled at the illustrator of the writers who was dressed colorfully. From the Cambridge English Corpus She touched the doll briefly then put the bowl down in her lap, rocking it gently with both hands and smiling occasionally. From the Cambridge English Corpus The unfriendly faces, illuminated by the glow of the fire, communicate their unified defiance through the faintest of smiles. From the Cambridge English Corpus Positive affect was coded if children exhibited any overt smiles or laughter during the observation. From the Cambridge English Corpus Responses consisted of choosing between "good," represented with a smiling face, or "bad," represented with a frowning face. From the Cambridge English Corpus She presents this to you; you smilingly wear it, and, still smiling, show it to ten of your friends outside. From the Cambridge English Corpus She turns and smiles at any man who'll lift his head. From the Cambridge English Corpus He smiled now, showing off the gold caps on his teeth. From the Cambridge English Corpus Pace and mood may be set with smiles, jokes, frowns, exclamations, and volume, rapidity, or intonation of speech. From the Cambridge English Corpus The hypocritical smiles are cracking the overdone make-up of its faces and facades held uneasily by feeble cardboard props. From the Cambridge English Corpus Psychologists also find that responses to these surveys are ' validated ' fairly consistently by psychological measures of happiness, such as respondents smiling more. From the Cambridge English Corpus The woman smiles back at them confidently and walks away, which indicates that it is no big deal for her - she has done it before. From the Cambridge English Corpus As his wife saw glimpses of her husband's personality emerge, she wept and smiled, encouraging and reassuring him. From the Cambridge English Corpus One smiles at the attempt to make the false attribution more credible by embroidering it with a year of composition and place of performance. From the Cambridge English Corpus See all examples of smile These examples are from corpora and from sources on the web. Any opinions in the examples do not represent the opinion of the Cambridge Dictionary editors or of Cambridge University Press or its licensors. What is the pronunciation of smile?

Translations of smile

in Chinese (Traditional) 微笑，笑容, 微笑，笑, 以微笑表達… See more in Chinese (Simplified) 微笑，笑容, 微笑，笑, 以微笑表达… See more in Spanish sonrisa, sonreír, decir con una sonrisa… See more in Portuguese sorriso, sorrir, sorriso [masculine]… See more in Marathi in Japanese in Turkish in French in Catalan in Dutch in Tamil in Hindi in Gujarati in Danish in Swedish in Malay in German in Norwegian in Urdu in Ukrainian in Telugu in Bengali in Czech in Indonesian in Thai in Vietnamese in Polish in Korean in Italian हास्य, हसणे… See more ほほ笑む, にっこりする, ほほ笑み… See more gülümsemek, tebessüm etmek, gülümseme… See more sourire… See more somriure… See more glimlachen, glimlach… See more முகத்தில் ஒரு மகிழ்ச்சியான அல்லது நட்பு வெளிப்பாடு, இதில் வாயின் முனைகள் சற்று மேலே வளைகின்றன, பெரும்பாலும் உதடுகள் தவிர நகரும்… See more मुसकान, मुस्कुराहट, मुसकुराना… See more સ્મિત, સ્મિત આપવું… See more smile, smil… See more le, se glad ut, leende… See more senyum, senyuman… See more lächeln, das Lächeln… See more smile, smil [neuter], smil… See more مسکراہٹ, مسکان, مسکرانا… See more усміхатися, посміхатися, усмішка… See more చిరునవ్వు, నవ్వు… See more হাসি, হাসা, হেসে ভাব প্রকাশ করা… See more usmívat se, úsměv… See more tersenyum, senyuman… See more ยิ้ม, รอยยิ้ม… See more mỉm cười, nụ cười… See more uśmiechać się, uśmiech… See more 웃다, 미소… See more sorridere, sorriso… See more Need a translator?

Get a quick, free translation!

Translator tool

Browse

smelting smh smidge smidgen smile smile on something/someone phrasal verb smiled smiley smiley face {{#randomImageQuizHook.filename}} {{#randomImageQuizHook.isQuiz}} Test your vocabulary with our fun image quizzes Try a quiz now {{/randomImageQuizHook.isQuiz}} {{^randomImageQuizHook.isQuiz}} {{/randomImageQuizHook.isQuiz}} {{/randomImageQuizHook.filename}}

More meanings of smile

• smile on something/someone phrasal verb
• crack a smile idiom
• force a laugh/smile phrase
• force a laugh/smile
• grin/smile from ear to ear idiom
• wipe the smile off someone's face idiom
• cast a look, glance, smile, etc. phrase

See all meanings

• smile on something/someone phrasal verb

See all phrasal verb meanings

• crack a smile idiom
• force a laugh/smile phrase
• grin/smile from ear to ear idiom
• wipe the smile off someone's face idiom
• cast a look, glance, smile, etc. phrase

See all idioms and phrases

Word of the Day

runny

UK /ˈrʌn.i/ US /ˈrʌn.i/

more liquid than usual

About this

Blog

Walk a mile in my shoes (Words about empathy)

March 11, 2026 Read More

New Words

fail watching March 09, 2026 More new words has been added to list To top AI Assistant Contents EnglishAmericanExamplesTranslations AI Assistant {{#displayLoginPopup}} Cambridge Dictionary +Plus

Learn more with +Plus

Sign up for free and get access to exclusive content: Free word lists and quizzes from Cambridge Tools to create your own word lists and quizzes Word lists shared by our community of dictionary fans Sign up now or Log in Cambridge Dictionary +Plus

Learn more with +Plus

Create word lists and quizzes for free Sign up now or Log in {{/displayLoginPopup}} {{#displayClassicSurvey}} {{/displayClassicSurvey}}

• Cambridge Dictionary +Plus
• My profile
• +Plus help
• Log out

AI Assistant Dictionary Definitions Clear explanations of natural written and spoken English English Learner’s Dictionary Essential British English Essential American English Translations Click on the arrows to change the translation direction. Bilingual Dictionaries English–Chinese (Simplified) Chinese (Simplified)–English English–Chinese (Traditional) Chinese (Traditional)–English English–Danish Danish–English English–Dutch Dutch–English English–French French–English English–German German–English English–Indonesian Indonesian–English English–Italian Italian–English English–Japanese Japanese–English English–Norwegian Norwegian–English English–Polish Polish–English English–Portuguese Portuguese–English English–Spanish Spanish–English English–Swedish Swedish–English Semi-bilingual Dictionaries English–Arabic English–Bengali English–Catalan English–Czech English–Gujarati English–Hindi English–Korean English–Malay English–Marathi English–Russian English–Tamil English–Telugu English–Thai English–Turkish English–Ukrainian English–Urdu English–Vietnamese Translate Grammar Thesaurus Pronunciation Cambridge Dictionary +Plus Games {{userName}}

• Cambridge Dictionary +Plus
• My profile
• +Plus help
• Log out

Log in / Sign up English (UK) Change English (UK) English (US) Español Português 中文 (简体) 正體中文 (繁體) Dansk Deutsch Français Italiano Nederlands Norsk Polski Русский Türkçe Tiếng Việt Svenska Українська 日本語 한국어 ગુજરાતી தமிழ் తెలుగు বাঙ্গালি मराठी हिंदी Follow us Choose a dictionary

• Recent and Recommended {{#preferredDictionaries}} {{name}} {{/preferredDictionaries}}
• Definitions Clear explanations of natural written and spoken English English Learner’s Dictionary Essential British English Essential American English
• Grammar and thesaurus Usage explanations of natural written and spoken English Grammar Thesaurus
• Pronunciation British and American pronunciations with audio English Pronunciation
• Translation Click on the arrows to change the translation direction. Bilingual Dictionaries
  • English–Chinese (Simplified) Chinese (Simplified)–English
  • English–Chinese (Traditional) Chinese (Traditional)–English
  • English–Danish Danish–English
  • English–Dutch Dutch–English
  • English–French French–English
  • English–German German–English
  • English–Indonesian Indonesian–English
  • English–Italian Italian–English
  • English–Japanese Japanese–English
  • English–Norwegian Norwegian–English
  • English–Polish Polish–English
  • English–Portuguese Portuguese–English
  • English–Spanish Spanish–English
  • English–Swedish Swedish–English
  Semi-bilingual Dictionaries English–Arabic English–Bengali English–Catalan English–Czech English–Gujarati English–Hindi English–Korean English–Malay English–Marathi English–Russian English–Tamil English–Telugu English–Thai English–Turkish English–Ukrainian English–Urdu English–Vietnamese
• Dictionary +Plus Word Lists

Choose your language English (UK) English (US) Español Português 中文 (简体) 正體中文 (繁體) Dansk Deutsch Français Italiano Nederlands Norsk Polski Русский Türkçe Tiếng Việt Svenska Українська 日本語 한국어 ગુજરાતી தமிழ் తెలుగు বাঙ্গালি मराठी हिंदी Contents

• English   NounVerb
• American   
  • Noun 
    • smile
  • Adjective 
    • smiley
  Verb
• Examples

• Translations
• Grammar
• All translations

My word lists

To add smile to a word list please sign up or log in.

Sign up or Log in My word lists

Add smile to one of your lists below, or create a new one.

{{#verifyErrors}}

{{message}}

{{/verifyErrors}} {{^verifyErrors}} {{#message}}

{{message}}

{{/message}} {{^message}}

Something went wrong.

{{/message}} {{/verifyErrors}} {{name}} More Go to your word lists {{#verifyErrors}}

{{message}}

{{/verifyErrors}} {{^verifyErrors}} {{#message}}

{{message}}

{{/message}} {{^message}}

Something went wrong.

{{/message}} {{/verifyErrors}} Tell us about this example sentence: The word in the example sentence does not match the entry word. The sentence contains offensive content. Cancel Submit Thanks! Your feedback will be reviewed. {{#verifyErrors}}

{{message}}

{{/verifyErrors}} {{^verifyErrors}} {{#message}}

{{message}}

{{/message}} {{^message}}

There was a problem sending your report.

{{/message}} {{/verifyErrors}} The word in the example sentence does not match the entry word. The sentence contains offensive content. Cancel Submit Thanks! Your feedback will be reviewed. {{#verifyErrors}}

{{message}}

{{/verifyErrors}} {{^verifyErrors}} {{#message}}

{{message}}

{{/message}} {{^message}}

There was a problem sending your report.

{{/message}} {{/verifyErrors}}