glimpse

[glimps]

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noun

a very brief, passing look, sight, or view.
a momentary or slight appearance.
a vague idea; inkling.

Archaic. a gleam, as of light.

verb (used with object), glimpsed, glimps·ing.

to catch or take a glimpse of.

verb (used without object), glimpsed, glimps·ing.

to look briefly; glance (usually followed by at).
Archaic. to come into view; appear faintly.

Origin of glimpse

1350–1400; Middle English glimsen (v.); cognate with Middle High German glimsen to glow; akin to glimmer

Related formsglimps·er, nounun·glimpsed, adjective

Can be confusedglance glimpse

Synonyms for glimpse

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5. spot, spy, view, sight, espy.

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018

Related Words for glimpse

peek, impression, flash, sight, glance, sighting, swivel, eye, slant, gun, lamp, gander, peep, squint, glom, eyeball, spy, spot, espy, descry

Examples from the Web for glimpse

Contemporary Examples of glimpse

The tumult was such that young Sarah had cause to worry that she might not get even a glimpse of Will and Kate.
Synagogue Slay: When Cops Have to Kill
Michael Daly
December 10, 2014
On the back cover of the first paperback edition we get a glimpse of the media buzz.
Living Black & Gay in the ’50s
Alain Mabanckou
December 3, 2014
When he gets his hands on a Canon copier, the reader gets a glimpse into the unique fashion in which his mind works.
The Many Lives of Artist David Hockney
William O’Connor
November 23, 2014
It is a glimpse at life exactly as it was at 3:32 am on April 6, 2009 when the earthquake stopped time.
Madonna, Carla Bruni & Obama Abandoned Pledges To Rebuild L'Aquila After The Quake
Barbie Latza Nadeau
November 18, 2014
That tells us not just the story of other star systems, but offers a glimpse into our own deep history, the one we can never see.
The Most Stunning View Ever of Planets Being Born
Matthew R. Francis
November 9, 2014

Historical Examples of glimpse

I catch a glimpse of the grandness of your sister's meaning.
Ester Ried Yet Speaking
Isabella Alden
I'll burn my copy before I will let you have a glimpse of it.
In the Midst of Alarms
Robert Barr
Yet how imperfect a glimpse do we obtain of him, through the medium of this, or any of his letters!
A Book of Autographs
Nathaniel Hawthorne
I thought I had a glimpse of something behind that thick bush.
The Gorgon's Head
Nathaniel Hawthorne
At the first glimpse of the terrible head of Medusa, they whitened into marble!
The Gorgon's Head
Nathaniel Hawthorne

British Dictionary definitions for glimpse

glimpse

noun

a brief or incomplete viewto catch a glimpse of the sea
a vague indicationhe had a glimpse of what the lecturer meant
archaic a glimmer of light

verb

(tr) to catch sight of briefly or momentarily
(intr usually foll by at) mainly US to look (at) briefly or cursorily; glance (at)
(intr) archaic to shine faintly; glimmer

Derived Formsglimpser, noun

Word Origin for glimpse

C14: of Germanic origin; compare Middle High German glimsen to glimmer

usage

Glimpse is sometimes wrongly used where glance is meant: he gave a quick glance (not glimpse) at his watch

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Word Origin and History for glimpse

c.1400, "to glisten, be dazzling," probably from Old English *glimsian "shine faintly," from Proto-Germanic *glim- (see gleam). If so, the intrusive -p- would be there to ease pronunciation. Sense of "catch a quick view" first recorded mid-15c. Related: Glimpsed. The noun is recorded from mid-16c.; earlier in verbal noun glimpsing (mid-14c.).