smiles

1. 1
   noun

   Plural of smile.

   The photographer waited for natural smiles instead of forced poses.

   Their smiles faded as the bad news sank in.

   Note

   A regular plural that carries every sense of the singular, including two that are easy to miss. In the figurative sense of favor, the plural sounds natural: the smiles of the powerful are their goodwill. In dated slang a smile was a drink one person bought for another, so smiles could mean drinks stood for friends. The same spelling is also the verb's present form. A determiner or adjective in front (their smiles, natural smiles) marks the noun.

2. 2
   verb

   Third-person singular simple present of smile.

   He smiles politely even when the meeting drags on too long.

   The teacher smiles at the class before handing back the tests.

   Note

   The agreement form for a single subject (she smiles, the morning smiles) inherits the whole range of the verb. With at it takes a target, as in smiles at the class. In the sense of being favorable, fortune smiles on someone. Used transitively, it carries what is expressed: she smiles her thanks. It has one unexpected use: an ackee smiles when it splits fully open, the sign that the fruit is no longer toxic and is ready to pick.

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