How to Use wink at in a Sentence

wink at

verb
  • Routh appeared to wink at his kids as he was being led away.
    — Corky Siemaszko, NBC news, 24 Sep. 2025
  • But the reaper kept knocking at Jamon’s door, and winking at his son.
    — Luca Evans, Denver Post, 21 June 2026
  • The goal isn't to turn your space into a theme-y soundstage, but to let the your decor wink at the mural and play along.
    — Marisa Suzanne Martin, The Spruce, 20 Feb. 2026
  • The stage musical does more winking at itself.
    — Rebecca Alter, Vulture, 21 Nov. 2025
  • Kate winked at her love for William by including a flower with his name in it in her bridal bouquet.
    — Caroline Blair, PEOPLE, 29 Apr. 2026
  • The Emmy Award winner flashed a bright smile at the camera and winked at the end of the video.
    — Ashley Hume, FOXNews.com, 7 May 2026
  • Viewers won’t see Jake wink at them or try to slip them a promotion for insurance.
    — Brian Steinberg, Variety, 13 Apr. 2026
  • Yungblud, 28, said while lounging shirtless in bed and winking at the camera.
    — Ilana Kaplan, PEOPLE, 12 Jan. 2026
  • The premise was a wink at mid-century classics like Brigadoon, Oklahoma!
    — Dave Quinn, PEOPLE, 30 Sep. 2025
  • This isn’t the first time Bush has opted for a silhouette with a subtle wink at the animal print shoe trend, either.
    — Maggie Clancy, Footwear News, 30 June 2026
  • Whether that image was meant to be an expression of patriotism or a wink at white supremacy was the subject of some debate.
    — Jason Abbruzzese, NBC news, 16 Jan. 2026
  • West Elm has a knack for creating contemporary pieces that wink at history.
    — Yelena Moroz Alpert, Architectural Digest, 24 Apr. 2026
  • Sprinkling ‘70s-style ceramics on the plaster fireplace winked at the past with zero regret.
    — Yelena Moroz Alpert, Architectural Digest, 2 Sep. 2025
  • During a toast, cameras captured him winking at the Princess of Wales, which went viral on social media.
    — Stephanie Nolasco , Ashley Papa, FOXNews.com, 19 Sep. 2025
  • Natural wood-grain texture gives this bed a down-to-earth aesthetic but still winks at New England vintage.
    — Yelena Moroz Alpert, Architectural Digest, 13 May 2026
  • With this cinematic trick, Schnabel seems to be winking at us a bit, allowing the suspension of belief in the name of art.
    — Pete Hammond, Deadline, 3 Sep. 2025
  • What works best are the moments of humor, particularly those that seem to wink at Dafoe’s own eccentricities.
    — Leila Latif, IndieWire, 31 Aug. 2025
  • As a teenager, Cody noticed a girl named Rebecca during study hall and, according to Davis, winked at her from across the room.
    — Emily St. Martin, Los Angeles Times, 11 June 2026
  • My dad glanced behind us once to see if we were being followed, winked at me in the rearview mirror, and then swung our car toward Interstate 80, headed west.
    — Zayd Ayers Dohrn, New Yorker, 28 Mar. 2026
  • The film’s press campaign has, quite reasonably, played up the magnificence of Skarsgård’s body in leather and winked at the transgressiveness on display.
    — Jackson McHenry, Vulture, 20 Feb. 2026
  • Merritt draws listeners’ attention to songwriting form, winking at its conventions and timeworn tropes.
    — New York Times, 28 Apr. 2026
  • The 100 Years of Summer bourbon winks at the past by packaging the hooch in the same half-pint bottle ol’ Annie used to hide.
    — Kristin L. Wolfe, Forbes.com, 20 Aug. 2025
  • The show’s title winks at The Costume Institute’s origins, which date further back to 1937.
    — Rosemary Feitelberg, Footwear News, 4 May 2026
  • Diners gather around wooden tables topped with dishes that wink at Mitchell’s Polish heritage and smile at in-season ingredients.
    — Lyndsay C. Green, Freep.com, 31 Oct. 2025
  • Taunting and a wink at the hospital At some point after the incident, Stayton was at a hospital where one of the protesters had been transported.
    — Jolene Almendarez, Cincinnati Enquirer, 12 Nov. 2025
  • Catherine O’Hara brought humanity to over-the-top characters—and managed to wink at the audience in the process, Paula Mejía writes.
    — Will Gottsegen, The Atlantic, 4 Feb. 2026
  • Allen has created a hall of mirrors, then, in which we’re supposed to stroke our chins and perhaps wink-wink at Baum’s meta commentary about the dangers of confusing the artist with the man … But so what?
    — Literary Hub, 17 Dec. 2025
  • Even though the episode appeared to be winking at what happened to the baseball legend, Mattingly recorded his Simpsons role a month before his real-life benching occurred.
    — Dan Snierson, Entertainment Weekly, 16 June 2026
  • In The Prairie, Cooper worked in a wink at Lewis and Clark, a minor character who mentioned the famous expedition.
    — Literary Hub, 21 Apr. 2026
  • My father glanced back to see if anyone was following, winked at me in the rearview mirror, and swung our car onto Broadway, toward Interstate 80, heading west.
    — Literary Hub, 19 May 2026

Some of these examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'wink at.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

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