See Also: wink(medicine)
wink(1)(dictionary)
wink(2)(dictionary)
wink(3)(dictionary)
wink(4)(dictionary)
wink reflex(medicine)
wink-a-peep(dictionary)
wink 1, verb(dictionary)
wink 2, noun(dictionary)

wink(1) (iou)



wink noun1. ME.
[from WINK verb1.]
A closing of the eyes for sleep; a (brief) spell of sleep, a nap. Usu. in forty winks, a wink of sleep, etc. below. ME.
J. K. Jerome Every night I woke up at seven o'clock and never got a wink afterwards.
The action or an act of winking; a glance or significant movement (now a closing and opening) of one eye, esp. as a signal expressing command, assent, invitation, collusion, friendliness, etc. E16.
M. Gee Bill emphasized his one foreign phrase with a long rolling wink. E. Blair Oh aye! smirked Moira..giving them a coy wink. Guardian Contrary to all the nods and winks of senior..policy-makers.
a. A brief moment, as being the time it takes to wink. L16.
b. The slightest amount. Chiefly in neg. contexts. L16.
c. In time-and-motion study, a unit of time equivalent to one two-thousandth of a minute. Orig. US. M20.
A temporary closure or flicker of the eyelid. E17.
Sir W. Scott The smallest twitch of the features, or wink of the eyelid.
Phrases: a wink of sleep emphatic a very brief spell of sleep (chiefly in neg. contexts). forty winks: see FORTY adjective. in a wink any moment now, in a trice. nudge, nudge, wink, wink: see NUDGE noun. sleep a wink: see SLEEP verb. tip the wink to: see TIP verb4 1.
winkless adjective (rare) without a wink, unwinking M19.