gleam

[gleem]

noun

1. a flash or beam of light.

   the gleam of a lantern in the dark.

2. a dim or subdued light.

3. a brief or slight manifestation or occurrence; trace.

   a gleam of hope.

verb (used without object)

1. to send forth a gleam or gleams.

   Synonyms: beam, sparkle, glitter, glint, flash, glimmer, shine, scintilla, suggestion, hint

2. to appear suddenly and clearly like a flash of light.

gleam

/ ɡliːm /

noun

1. a small beam or glow of light, esp reflected light

2. a brief or dim indication

   a gleam of hope

verb

1. to send forth or reflect a beam of light

2. to appear, esp briefly

   intelligence gleamed in his eyes

Other Word Forms

• gleamless adjective
• outgleam verb (used with object)
• gleaming adjective
• gleamingly adverb
• gleamy adjective

Word History and Origins

Origin of gleam¹

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

Word History and Origins

Origin of gleam¹

Old English glǣm; related to Old Norse gljā to flicker, Old High German gleimo glow-worm, glīmo brightness, Old Irish glē bright

Synonym Study

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.

Example Sentences

The gleaming surface of the projecting figure and a background of sleeping soldiers, angels, drapery and clouds embody the inexplicable moment.

Read more on The Wall Street Journal

Treasurer Brandon Beach said before pushing the button that formed President Abraham Lincoln’s image on a gleaming planchet.

Read more on The Wall Street Journal

The gleaming city is one of the most infamous of the hubs thriving in Myanmar's border regions, which have devolved into hives of black market activity since a civil war consumed the country in 2021.

Read more on Barron's

But at the same time, I noticed a little gleam in his eye when it was all over.

Read more on Literature

Chenoweth, who is as gleaming as a holiday ornament on Liberace’s Christmas tree, arrives at a canny balance of quixotic generosity and parvenu carelessness in her portrayal of a woman she refuses to lampoon.

Read more on Los Angeles Times

Related Words

• glimmer 
• glint 
• glisten 
• glitter 
• glow 
• radiate 
• shimmer 
• shine 
• twinkle 

When To Use

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.