To express, bestow, or look with favor or approval on someone or something. Usually (though not always) used in reference to figurative concepts such as fate, fortune, luck, etc. I hear that Jenny just won some major award, so soon after her huge promotion. It seems that fortune smiles on her at the moment! May luck smile upon our voyage. The boss made it clear that she smile on individual initiative, so I decided to be brave and submit an application for a project I wanted to lead.