hint

Meanings

1. 1
   noun

   An indirect suggestion that helps someone guess what you mean.

   He gave me a hint that my breath smelt.

2. 2
   noun

   A piece of information that helps you solve a problem or do something.

   I needed a hint to finish the crossword.

3. 3
   noun

   A very small amount of something that you can only just notice.

   There was a hint of irony in his voice.

4. 4
   verb

   To suggest something indirectly without saying it openly.

   She hinted at the possibility of a recount of the votes.

From Middle English hinten, hynten, variant of henten (“to lay hold of, catch”), from Old English hentan (“to seize, grasp”), from Proto-West Germanic *hantijan, from Proto-Germanic *hantijaną. Doublet of hent. Related also to hunt.

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