glance
1 Americanverb (used without object)
-
glances,
present (3rd person singular)
-
glanced,
past participle, past
-
glancing
present participle
-
to look quickly or briefly.
-
to gleam or flash.
a silver brooch glancing in the sunlight.
- Synonyms:
- scintillate, glisten
-
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.
-
to allude briefly to a topic or subject in passing (usually followed byat ).
verb (used with object)
-
glances,
present (3rd person singular)
-
glanced,
past participle, past
-
glancing
present participle
-
to cast a glance or brief look at; catch a glimpse of.
-
to cast or reflect, as a gleam.
-
to throw, hit, kick, shoot, etc. (something) so that it glances off a surface or object.
noun
-
a quick or brief look.
-
a gleam or flash of light, especially reflected light.
- Synonyms:
- glitter
-
a deflected movement or course; an oblique rebound.
-
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.
-
Cricket. a stroke in which the batsman deflects the ball with the bat, as to leg.
-
Archaic. a passing reference or allusion; insinuation.
noun
verb
-
(intr) to look hastily or briefly
-
(intr; foll by over, through, etc) to look over briefly
to glance through a report
-
(intr) to reflect, glint, or gleam
the sun glanced on the water
-
to depart (from an object struck) at an oblique angle
the arrow glanced off the tree
-
(tr) to strike at an oblique angle
the arrow glanced the tree
noun
-
a hasty or brief look; peep
-
from one's first look; immediately
-
a flash or glint of light; gleam
-
the act or an instance of an object glancing or glancing off another
-
a brief allusion or reference
-
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
-
glancesimple
-
glancessimple
-
have glancedperfect
-
has glancedperfect
-
am glancingprogressive
-
are glancingprogressive
-
is glancingprogressive
-
have been glancingperfect progressive
-
has been glancingperfect progressive
Past
-
glancedsimple
-
had glancedperfect
-
was glancingprogressive
-
were glancingprogressive
-
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, this sounds like a disagreement over whether a computer can be trusted to hear “no onions” rather than “more onions.”
From Salon ● Oct. 11, 2026
At first glance, Colorado isn’t an obvious backdrop for culture-war clashes.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 3, 2026
“I think at first glance that’s what you see in our ballclub,” Roberts said.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 26, 2026
He was fairly expressionless throughout, aside from the occasional shrug of the shoulders or glance at his team.
From BBC ● Sep. 26, 2026
The next afternoon, when Brie drops me off at home after babysitting, I glance over at Dr. P’s yard and see two heads of reddish hair glinting in the sunlight.
From "Keeping Pace" by Laurie Morrison
A small coterie of dissenters began exchanging knowing glances on campus.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 16, 2026
Bergman glances at, then skips past, explanations for Elisabet’s condition.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 9, 2026
We got lost once, and our entourage received several perplexed glances from workers, but otherwise it was smooth sailing.
From Salon ● Oct. 4, 2026
A camera strap dangles off George Rodriguez’s shoulder as he glances around the gallery in search of his favorite image.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 9, 2026
Then she glances over at the page where I’ve written a few more words.
From "Across So Many Seas" by Ruth Behar
She looked at me, then glanced back at the booth where Barry was gesturing wildly at a piece of fried onion.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 16, 2026
As I peeled the tape off my picture frames and glanced around the cleaned apartment, I wondered if I had been unnecessarily paranoid.
From MarketWatch ● Oct. 16, 2026
She glanced at him once with what looked like a hint of contemptuousness and ended without detouring.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 10, 2026
Dodsworth glanced at the item and put it in the pocket of his jogging bottoms, jurors heard.
From BBC ● May 7, 2026
Kathy glanced at SJ and then at the line of people eager to order from the menu.
From "Legendary Frybread Drive-In" by Cynthia Leitich Smith
Simply put, throughout his career, Defoe - also England's highest-scoring substitute with seven goals - was the ruthless finisher a manager wished to see when anxiously glancing at their bench in need of a goal.
From BBC ● Oct. 16, 2026
“We’re exhausted. We’ve already been displaced seven times,” said Al-Louh, 45, his eyes following the donkey cart before glancing eastward toward the yellow blocks.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 9, 2026
But within just a few months, I’d reverted to my old habits—immediately glancing at and engaging with every ping and alert, and reflexively picking up my phone to scroll through my rotation of go-to websites.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 5, 2026
After an initial, glancing chase by a group of indigenous men bent on seizing the whalemen’s clothing and weapons, the survivors landed on the Palauan island of Babeldaob.
From The Wall Street Journal ● May 20, 2026
I avoid glancing at my siblings, worried my face will give away our secret.
From "South of Somewhere" by Kalena Miller
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