Longman Dictionary of Contemporary English homepage

Date: 1200-1300
Origin: Perhaps from Old English cringan 'to give up'

cringe

 verb
     
cringe [intransitive]
1 to move away from someone or something because you are afraid:
A stray dog was cringing by the door.
She cringed away from him.
2 to feel embarrassed by something you have said or done because you think it makes you seem silly [↪ wince]
cringe at
She cringed at the sound of her own voice.
It makes me cringe when I think how stupid I was.
Definition from the Longman Dictionary of Contemporary English
Advanced Learner's Dictionary.

Dictionary pictures of the day
Do you know what each of these is called?
What is the word for picture 1? What is the word for picture 2? What is the word for picture 3? What is the word for picture 4?
Click on any of the pictures above to find out what it is called.

Explore our topic dictionary

Browse the dictionary