gleam
Americannoun
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a flash or beam of light.
the gleam of a lantern in the dark.
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a dim or subdued light.
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a brief or slight manifestation or occurrence; trace.
a gleam of hope.
noun
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a small beam or glow of light, esp reflected light
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a brief or dim indication
a gleam of hope
verb
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to send forth or reflect a beam of light
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to appear, esp briefly
intelligence gleamed in his eyes
Usage
What does gleam mean?
A gleam is a flash or flicker of light, as in As Val scrolled through their phone in the dark, the screen projected a gleam of light on their face.
A gleam is also a dim light, such as you might get from a flashlight with a dying battery.
To gleam means to send out a gleam, as in The candle gleamed in the darkness.
To gleam also means to appear quickly and clearly, as a flash of light would.
Example: I love the way this dress gleams in the sun.
Related Words
Gleam, glimmer, beam, ray are terms for a stream of light. Gleam denotes a not very brilliant, intermittent or nondirectional stream of light. Glimmer indicates a nondirectional light that is feeble and unsteady: a faint glimmer of moonlight. Beam usually means a directional, and therefore smaller, stream: the beam from a searchlight. Ray usually implies a still smaller amount of light than a beam, a single line of light: a ray through a pinprick in a window shade.
Other Word Forms
- gleaming adjective
- gleamingly adverb
- gleamless adjective
- gleamy adjective
- outgleam verb (used with object)
Etymology
Origin of gleam
First recorded before 1000; (noun) Middle English glem(e), Old English glǣm; cognate with Old High German gleimo “glowworm”; akin to Old Saxon glīmo “brightness”; (verb) Middle English, derivative of the noun. See glimmer, glimpse
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.
In Adamuz, where white buildings gleam among orange-lined streets, residents rushed to the town hall with supplies as news of the disaster spread.
From Barron's • Jan. 20, 2026
At its site, called Treasure Creek, near Fairbanks, Australian company Felix Gold has found high-grade surface deposits of antimony that gleam in the sunlight.
From The Wall Street Journal • Nov. 8, 2025
On the soft gleam of the stove’s flame.
From Salon • May 12, 2025
The gold coins still gleam as if they were new, and he shows us delicate gold and natural pearl earrings, necklace pendants and intricately etched semi-precious stones.
From BBC • Jan. 17, 2025
The rushlight glimmered on the cave wall behind the stone -and lit the gleam of thousands of eyes.
From "Wolf Brother" by Michelle Paver
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.
