Skip to the word

Added 9 October 2026

squinch

/skwɪnt͡ʃ/ noun

noun Definition from WordNet 3.1, Princeton University. Pronunciation from Wiktionary, via Kaikki.org. More about squinch at Wordnik → Where our words come from →

A small arch built across the interior angle of two walls (usually to support a spire).

verb

Crouch down.
Draw back, as with fear or pain.
she flinched when they showed the slaughtering of the calf
Cross one's eyes as if in strabismus.
The children squinted so as to scare each other

Origin

Alteration of earlier scunch (“back part of the side of an opening”), short for scuncheon.

From Wiktionary, via Kaikki.org (CC BY-SA)

Back to today's word