hint
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Written by a house AI from the entry below, in your language. The entry itself is the source.
hint
- /hɪnt/
Rhymes with -ɪnt
Where it comes from
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.
noun hints
- A clue. I needed a hint to complete the crossword.
- An implicit suggestion that avoids a direct statement. He gave me a hint that my breath smelt.
- A small, barely detectable amount. There was a hint of irony in his voice.
- Information in a computer-based font that suggests how the outlines of the font's glyphs should be distorted in order to produce, at specific sizes, a visually appealing pixel-based rendering; an instance of hinting. This font does not scale well to small sizes; the hints for the 10-point letter 'g' still need work.
- An instruction to the database engine as to how a query should be executed, for example whether to use an index or not.
- An opportunity; occasion; fit time. I, not remembering how I cried out then, / Will cry it o'er again: it is a hint / That wrings mine eyes to't.
verb hints · hinting · hinted
- To imply without a direct statement; to provide a clue. She hinted at the possibility of a recount of the votes.
- To bring to mind by a slight mention or remote allusion; to suggest in an indirect manner. to hint a suspicion
- To develop and add hints to a font. The typographer worked all day on hinting her new font so it would look good on computer screens.
- To give (a person) a hint; to tip off. If you find the treasure in the video game, please do not hint other players about it.
interjection
- Signifies that something previously said should be taken as a hint or heeded closely. And yes, as long as you are being a good coder and engaging in safe practices, nothing should go wrong. (Hint, hint.)
