gleam
Americannoun
-
gleams
plural
-
a flash or beam of light.
the gleam of a lantern in the dark.
-
a dim or subdued light.
-
a brief or slight manifestation or occurrence; trace.
a gleam of hope.
verb (used without object)
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gleams,
present (3rd person singular)
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gleamed,
past participle, past
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gleaming
present participle
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.
Synonym Usage
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
Derived Forms
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outgleamverb (used with object)
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gleamingadjective
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gleamlessadjective
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gleamyadjective
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gleaminglyadverb
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
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gleamsimple
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gleamssimple
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have gleamedperfect
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has gleamedperfect
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am gleamingprogressive
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are gleamingprogressive
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is gleamingprogressive
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have been gleamingperfect progressive
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has been gleamingperfect progressive
Past
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gleamedsimple
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had gleamedperfect
-
was gleamingprogressive
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were gleamingprogressive
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had been gleamingperfect progressive
Future
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
Explanation
A gleam is a bright flash of light. If you were lost on a dark, stormy night, you'd be hugely relieved to see the gleam of a roadside diner's sign up ahead. Use the verb gleam when something is shining as if it were wet or glinting with light. Your new toothpaste might make your teeth so white that they gleam. You can also describe an emotion that appears briefly as a gleam, like a gleam of hope. And as you hatch a plan to toilet-paper the neighbor's yard, mischief might gleam in your eyes.
Vocabulary lists containing gleam
List 9
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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:
Hearty slices of calamari singed on the plancha gleam in the fading sunlight.
From Salon ● Aug. 11, 2026
Since then, every major chapter of Trump’s story has been suffused with the gleam of his favorite metal.
From Slate ● Jun. 11, 2026
His art isn’t even subtly political; it is futuristic, with a kind of sci-fi gleam.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Apr. 27, 2026
There's almost no kissing, and the disco is a million miles from the hedonistic gleam of Studio 54.
From BBC ● Mar. 4, 2026
How the tourists must delight in the gleam of metal and porcelain!
From "Lupita Mañana" by Patricia Beatty
A silver court gown like the one Marie Antoinette wore at her wedding gleams in the central case.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jan. 8, 2026
When he opens it, the violin gleams with the sheen of a freshly split chestnut.
From Los Angeles Times ● Nov. 24, 2025
But keep your whisk moving, and you’ll feel it: the moment the sauce thickens, holds, and gleams just slightly.
From Salon ● Jun. 5, 2025
Most intriguing is a hand-size squid that gleams ruby red.
From National Geographic ● Feb. 13, 2024
And on the left side, a young man with dark hair that gleams in the fluorescent light—Peter.
From "Insurgent" by Veronica Roth
Chestnut fur gleamed on a hoof attached to a leg bone.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 7, 2025
A couple of rows on, the Super Hot Red Pepper, another Alvarez creation, gleamed in the sunlight.
From Seattle Times ● Oct. 22, 2023
Skies gleamed pink, green and yellow as the aurora borealis illuminated parts of northern England.
From BBC ● Sep. 13, 2023
"Is that…" her eyes gleamed, jaw dropping to the floor, as she placed both of her tiny hands over her heart.
From Salon ● Aug. 13, 2023
The rain intensified and gleamed on his horse’s flank.
From "Impossible Creatures" by Katherine Rundell
But her influence undoubtedly spreads far and wide, from the nondescript Singapore office, to hulking data centres in Southeast Asia, to the gleaming boardrooms of Silicon Valley.
From Barron's ● Nov. 13, 2026
Stewart smudged her face with gray makeup, cut a few rips in her least-loved jeans, sliced up a gleaming white cardigan and held up a clipboard that read, “I Am Hungry Help Me!!”
From Salon ● Nov. 2, 2026
When the building wraps around the shuttle itself it reads as a gleaming, cone-shaped beacon, visible from far away; tracing the shuttle’s dimensions and anchoring the museum in Expo Park.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 27, 2026
At a gleaming hi-tech robotics research facility in Coventry last month, John Healey sought to set out the broad contours of his approach to the economy.
From BBC ● Oct. 26, 2026
As we move through this ferry with its gleaming floor tiles and its vinyl booths and bolted-down seats, emotions rise up within me, competing for my attention.
From "The Sea in Winter" by Christine Day
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Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
