v.
- shut and open the eyes quickly.
-
[usu. with neg.]
react with surprise or disapproval:
he doesn't blink at the unsavoury aspects of his subject.
- (of a light) flash on and off.
n.
- an act of blinking.
- a momentary gleam of light.
Phrase
- in the blink of an eye
(or in a blink)
very quickly. - on the blink
informal (of a machine) not working properly; out of order.
Etymology
ME (in senses ‘deceive’, ‘flinch’, ‘open the eyes after sleep’): from blenk, Scots var. of blench1.