glimmer
Americannoun
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a faint or unsteady light; gleam.
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a dim perception; inkling.
verb (used without object)
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to shine faintly or unsteadily; twinkle, shimmer, or flicker.
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to appear faintly or dimly.
verb
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(of a light, candle, etc) to glow faintly or flickeringly
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to be indicated faintly
hope glimmered in his face
noun
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a glow or twinkle of light
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a faint indication
Related Words
See gleam.
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of glimmer
1300–50; Middle English glimeren “to gleam”; cognate with German glimmern; compare Old English gleomu “splendor”
Explanation
A glimmer is a tiny glint of light or the sliver of an idea. Either way, it's a sign of a lot more going on behind the scenes. A glimmer of light is just a little bit of light, maybe sneaking through the curtains enough to make a flicker on the floor. A glimmer of an idea is just a small inkling of an idea. When someone doesn't understand something, you could make them feel worse by saying, "You don't have a glimmer of what I'm talking about, do you?" When it comes to light, you can also say light is glimmering, or gleaming. People often say stars are glimmering.
Vocabulary lists containing glimmer
"Harrison Bergeron"
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"Of Mice and Men"
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100 SAT Words Beginning with "G"
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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.
“Even a glimmer of negotiating progress can easily spark a dramatic price decline.”
From The Wall Street Journal • Apr. 15, 2026
Despite the anguish — often told as a punch line — the winner of the competition offered a glimmer of hope to the nearly 90 attendees live-voting throughout the show via an app.
From Los Angeles Times • Apr. 9, 2026
He added that he had been receiving treatment and that combined with support and encouragement from family and friends, he could see a "glimmer of light in what has been a very dark tunnel".
From BBC • Apr. 9, 2026
"We are putting our trust in God," Attieh said, since "this is the only glimmer of hope we will not give up on".
From Barron's • Apr. 5, 2026
I turn the ceiling into a cloudless, starry night sky and let the aurora borealis glimmer just beyond their fingertips as shooting stars zip across the auditorium.
From "Amari and the Night Brothers" by B.B. Alston
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.
