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 handmade shoe is alive and well in this shop,” he said, dressed in pressed black slacks and tinted sunglasses, chunky gold rings gleaming on his fingers.

From Los Angeles Times

He is one of the millions here struggling to get by amid the gleaming skyscrapers built by oil money.

From BBC

Inside the workshop, gleaming rows of polished pianos are packed in closely together.

From BBC

He vowed to “restore the city back to the gleaming capital that everybody wants it to be.”

From Los Angeles Times

Their old-money neighbors find the enormous, gleaming structure to be garish.

From Salon

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.