Wink — Defs

01 v. i. To nod; to sleep; to nap.

imp. & p. p. Winked; p. pr. & vb. n. Winking

1.
To nod; to sleep; to nap.[Obs.]
2.
To shut the eyes quickly; to close the eyelids with a quick motion.
“He must wink, so loud he would cry.” — Chaucer.

“And I will wink, so shall the day seem night.” — Shak.

“They are not blind, but they wink.” — Tillotson.
3.
To close and open the eyelids quickly; to nictitate; to blink.
“A baby of some three months old, who winked, and turned aside its little face from the too vivid light of day.” — Hawthorne.
4.
To give a hint by a motion of the eyelids, often those of one eye only.
“Wink at the footman to leave him without a plate.” — Swift.
5.
To avoid taking notice, as if by shutting the eyes; to connive at anything; to be tolerant; -- generally with at.
“The times of this ignorance God winked at.” — Acts xvii. 30.

“And yet, as though he knew it not, His knowledge winks, and lets his humors reign.” — Herbert.

“Obstinacy can not be winked at, but must be subdued.” — Locke.
6.
To be dim and flicker; as, the light winks.

Phrases & compounds

Winking monkey — the white-nosed monkey (Cersopithecus nictitans).

02 v. t. To cause (the eyes) to wink.

03 n. The act of closing, or closing and opening, the eyelids quickly; hence, the time necessary for such an act; a moment.

1.
The act of closing, or closing and opening, the eyelids quickly; hence, the time necessary for such an act; a moment.
“I have not slept one wink.” — Shak.

“I could eclipse and cloud them with a wink.” — Donne.
2.
A hint given by shutting the eye with a significant cast.
“The stockjobber thus from Change Alley goes down, And tips you, the freeman, a wink.” — Swift.