- present participle of gleam.
gleaming
Americanadjective
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of gleaming
Explanation
Teeth in toothpaste commercials are gleaming. They sparkle when the light hits. When you see this word, think of a bright reflected ray of light, on teeth, on water, or in someone's smiling eyes. A new skyscraper that reflects light might also be described as gleaming. If you are excited to move to a new place, someone might say that your eyes are gleaming with excitement, especially as you view the gleaming wood floors and gleaming freshly-washed windows of your new home. The word has a clean, glittering, sparkly feel to it.
Vocabulary lists containing gleaming
A Long Walk to Water
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The Star-Spangled Banner
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Brown Girl Dreaming
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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.
The title track, which emphasizes the rapper’s new level of stardom, is anchored by a gleaming flip of Linda Clifford’s “Never Gonna Stop,” just four notes circling in a bewitching loop.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 21, 2026
"Zhang Xue has brought glory to China, so I want to support him," said Hu Zhaomeng, picking up his gleaming red 500 model from a Chongqing dealership.
From Barron's ● Aug. 9, 2026
On the field, in front of that gleaming facility, the Trojans also were breaking in something entirely new on Saturday: their receiving corps.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 1, 2026
Each of the five judges read all the submitted books, with Beard joking she "occasionally felt daunted as a new box of 30 or so gleaming volumes landed on my doorstep".
From BBC ● Jul. 28, 2026
There is a gleaming puddle of sunlight across the surface of my desk.
From "The Sea in Winter" by Christine Day
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.
