glance
1 Americanverb (used without object)
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to look quickly or briefly.
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to gleam or flash.
a silver brooch glancing in the sunlight.
- Synonyms:
- scintillate, glisten
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to strike a surface or object obliquely, especially so as to bounce off at an angle (often followed byoff ).
The arrow glanced off his shield.
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to allude briefly to a topic or subject in passing (usually followed byat ).
verb (used with object)
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to cast a glance or brief look at; catch a glimpse of.
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to cast or reflect, as a gleam.
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to throw, hit, kick, shoot, etc. (something) so that it glances off a surface or object.
noun
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a quick or brief look.
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a gleam or flash of light, especially reflected light.
- Synonyms:
- glitter
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a deflected movement or course; an oblique rebound.
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Digital Technology. information on an electronic screen that can be understood quickly or at a glance.
Get news and weather glances on your phone.
Tap anywhere on a glance to open the app.
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Cricket. a stroke in which the batsman deflects the ball with the bat, as to leg.
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Archaic. a passing reference or allusion; insinuation.
noun
verb
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(intr) to look hastily or briefly
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(intr; foll by over, through, etc) to look over briefly
to glance through a report
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(intr) to reflect, glint, or gleam
the sun glanced on the water
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to depart (from an object struck) at an oblique angle
the arrow glanced off the tree
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(tr) to strike at an oblique angle
the arrow glanced the tree
noun
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a hasty or brief look; peep
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from one's first look; immediately
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a flash or glint of light; gleam
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the act or an instance of an object glancing or glancing off another
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a brief allusion or reference
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cricket a stroke in which the ball is deflected off the bat to the leg side; glide
noun
Usage
Glance is sometimes wrongly used where glimpse is meant: he caught a glimpse (not glance ) of her making her way through the crowd
Synonym Usage
See flash.
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
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glancesimple
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glancessimple
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have glancedperfect
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has glancedperfect
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am glancingprogressive
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are glancingprogressive
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is glancingprogressive
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have been glancingperfect progressive
-
has been glancingperfect progressive
Past
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glancedsimple
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had glancedperfect
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was glancingprogressive
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were glancingprogressive
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had been glancingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of glance1
First recorded in 1400–50; late Middle English verb glenchen, glansen, variant (perhaps influenced by obsolete glent “to shine”) of Middle English glacen “to strike a glancing blow,” from Old French glacier “to slip, slide,” from Latin glaciāre “to freeze”; see glacé, glint
Origin of glance2
First recorded in 1795–1805; from German Glanz “brightness, luster”
Explanation
Glance involves quick contact. When you glance at someone you take a quick peek at them. When a knife blow glances off you, it doesn't penetrate, but hits at an angle. When you glance at someone, it's often because you don't want to be caught staring. Remember: "Strangers in the night/exchanging glances..." In certain circles, if someone is caught glancing at someone else's girlfriend, he'll find himself in a fist fight, praying only that his beefy opponent will deliver only a glancing blow.
Vocabulary lists containing glance
"All Summer in a Day" by Ray Bradbury
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Unit 1: Telling Details
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Beowulf vocabulary
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
See Examples For:
At first glance, the reel resembled the workout videos he usually posted.
From BBC ● Jul. 22, 2026
At first glance, the funds appear nearly identical.
From MarketWatch ● Jul. 20, 2026
At first glance, one might have thought such an organization would have been championed by the U.S.
From Salon ● Jul. 19, 2026
At first glance, such an extreme environment seems completely inhospitable.
From Science Daily ● Jul. 9, 2026
At the small train station the guard turned and left us without a backward glance.
From "The Hiding Place" by Corrie ten Boom
When she encountered the boys in the hallways, their glances left her feeling disturbed.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 14, 2026
But Barker only glances at a few relevant themes before turning his gaze just when things are getting interesting.
From Salon ● Jun. 4, 2026
I exchanged hopeful glances with the women around me.
From Los Angeles Times ● Feb. 27, 2026
When Aston Martin's new Formula 1 car first appeared in testing at the end of January, it drew admiring glances up and down the pit lane.
From BBC ● Feb. 24, 2026
Then he glances back up at me, and I look down at the fish.
From "Legendary Frybread Drive-In" by Cynthia Leitich Smith
As the crowd showered Vargas with cheers, Diamondbacks president Derrick Hall glanced over at first base.
From The Wall Street Journal ● May 15, 2026
He glanced at his staff and shifted in his seat.
From Salon ● Apr. 22, 2026
Williams "merely glanced briefly at the contents" and assumed it provided information about the person who made the allegations.
From BBC ● Feb. 26, 2026
William Skannerup glanced left and right at his fellow commuters on the London Underground train network, before they nodded in agreement and pulled down their trousers to reveal colourful underwear.
From Barron's ● Jan. 11, 2026
Mr. Haber glanced at my button panel as he stepped in and nodded to indicate he was headed to the seventh floor as well.
From "The Red Car to Hollywood" by Jennie Liu
Arsenal's Kai Havertz equalised with a glancing header early in the second half before Jonathan Tah's header was controversially ruled out for a foul by a team-mate seconds earlier.
From BBC ● Jun. 30, 2026
“You get more done when the pressure’s on,” she says, glancing at one of the dozens of text messages that have popped up on her iPhone.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 18, 2026
He said glancing at the the dinosaur next to him in the dirt helps keep him calm and focused.
From Los Angeles Times ● May 28, 2026
However, the Met Office Space Weather Prediction Centre suggests there is a low chance of a "glancing blow" of energy on Tuesday night where the aurora could reappear in northern Scotland.
From BBC ● Mar. 24, 2026
I took the pail to the end of the field, glancing around to be sure no one on the road might take it away from me.
From "Nory Ryan’s Song" by Patricia Reilly Giff
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
