hint (hĭnt)
n.

1. A slight indication or intimation: wanted to avoid any hint of scandal.
2. 1. A brief or indirect suggestion; a tip: stock-trading hints.
   2. A statement conveying information in an indirect fashion; a clue: Give me a hint about the big news.
3. A barely perceptible amount: just a hint of color.
4. Archaic. An occasion; an opportunity.

v., hint·ed, hint·ing, hints.

v.tr.
To indicate or make known in an indirect manner.

v.intr.
To give a hint: wouldn't hint at the true purpose of the meeting. See synonyms at suggest.

[Probably from Middle English hinten, henten, to catch, grasp, from Old English hentan.]

hinter hint'er n.

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The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition Copyright © 2007, 2000 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Updated in 2009. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.

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