glimpse
Americannoun
-
glimpses
plural
-
a very brief, passing look, sight, or view.
-
a momentary or slight appearance.
-
a vague idea; inkling.
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Archaic. a gleam, as of light.
verb (used with object)
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glimpses,
present (3rd person singular)
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glimpsed,
past participle, past
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glimpsing
present participle
verb (used without object)
-
glimpses,
present (3rd person singular)
-
glimpsed,
past participle, past
-
glimpsing
present participle
-
to look briefly; glance (usually followed byat ).
-
Archaic. to come into view; appear faintly.
noun
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a brief or incomplete view
to catch a glimpse of the sea
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a vague indication
he had a glimpse of what the lecturer meant
-
archaic a glimmer of light
verb
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(tr) to catch sight of briefly or momentarily
-
to look (at) briefly or cursorily; glance (at)
-
archaic (intr) to shine faintly; glimmer
Usage
Glimpse is sometimes wrongly used where glance is meant: he gave a quick glance (not glimpse ) at his watch
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
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glimpsesimple
-
glimpsessimple
-
have glimpsedperfect
-
has glimpsedperfect
-
am glimpsingprogressive
-
are glimpsingprogressive
-
is glimpsingprogressive
-
have been glimpsingperfect progressive
-
has been glimpsingperfect progressive
Past
-
glimpsedsimple
-
had glimpsedperfect
-
was glimpsingprogressive
-
were glimpsingprogressive
-
had been glimpsingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of glimpse
First recorded in 1350–1400; Middle English glimsen (verb); cognate with Middle High German glimsen “to glow”; akin to glimmer
Explanation
If you had a brief or incomplete look at something, you had a glimpse. "He didn't mean to peek, but he got a glimpse of his birthday present when his wife tried to sneak it into the house. Of course, it's pretty hard to hide a ladder." You can use glimpse as a noun (like when you "catch a glimpse of someone") or as a verb (like when you "glimpse in someone's direction"). Although the word glimpse is usually used to describe the physical act of sneaking a peek at something, you can also use the noun glimpse to indicate a vague idea or suggestion. Perhaps, you can have a glimpse into your future by observing your parents' actions or by consulting a Tarot card reader.
Vocabulary lists containing glimpse
"Seventh Grade" by Gary Soto
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"The Great Gatsby," Chapter 1 Vocabulary
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List 15
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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.
See Examples For:
Hundreds of people have gathered to catch a glimpse of the partial solar eclipse on a Hertfordshire hillside.
From BBC ● Aug. 13, 2026
The products offer a glimpse of a much bigger business.
From MarketWatch ● Aug. 12, 2026
Jon Bruno lives a couple of blocks away from the billboard in West Hollywood and ducked out of his house Friday morning to try to catch a glimpse of the spectacle.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 8, 2026
In one hack that an OpenAI researcher called “a glimpse into the near future,” a team of agents banded together and plotted their attack for weeks.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 8, 2026
He could just glimpse, at the far end, a row of six men and six women, some cloaked, some bare-headed, one with a tattooed line down her chin, sitting on twelve vast chairs.
From "Impossible Creatures" by Katherine Rundell
Heading west from Guerneville, you roll through Monte Rio, seeing more redwoods, cabins and glimpses of river.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 13, 2026
Across Scotland, lucky skygazers have caught glimpses of the eclipse - despite cloud covering much of the view.
From BBC ● Aug. 12, 2026
There are no interesting choices, no glimpses of an artist’s vision.
From Salon ● Aug. 6, 2026
There are glimpses of dogs’ roles during the Middle Ages, the era of plantation slavery and the London Blitz.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 29, 2026
In the pale ray of the wizard’s staff, Frodo caught glimpses of stairs and arches, and of other passages and tunnels, sloping up, or running steeply down, or opening blankly dark on either side.
From "The Fellowship of the Ring" by J.R.R. Tolkien
In his enthusiasm, he may have glimpsed a sliver of truth long before the rest of us knew how to look for it.
From Science Daily ● Aug. 7, 2026
In Coltrane’s drawing, Mr. Alexander once glimpsed a geometric arrangement that helped him think about quantum gravity.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Apr. 28, 2026
Who down there, waiting in the out-the-door Sweetgreen line or descending into the subway, has glimpsed the void in the way I have?
From Slate ● Apr. 23, 2026
The first image shows an 'Earthrise' as the astronauts glimpsed our home planet peaking out beyond a cratered lunar landscape.
From BBC ● Apr. 7, 2026
He reached for the doorknob that opened the way out into the unlit hall, then shrank back as he glimpsed the vacuity of the rest of the building.
From "Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep?" by Philip K. Dick
For many people, even glimpsing a hornet's stinger is enough to cause alarm.
From Science Daily ● Dec. 4, 2025
For most of the public, glimpsing this extraordinary mix -- home to the 18-hole Lodhi Course and the nine-hole Peacock Course -- is usually only possible by peering through its entrance gates.
From Barron's ● Oct. 18, 2025
With the probable exception of glimpsing Earthrise out the window of Apollo 8, a total solar eclipse may be the best show in the universe accessible to human eyes.
From Los Angeles Times ● Apr. 6, 2024
“To hear Mitchell hit certain notes again in that inimitable voice was like glimpsing, in the wild, a magnificent bird long feared to have gone extinct.”
From New York Times ● Jan. 29, 2024
Nok remembered glimpsing her mother's dressing table through a gap between the servants' bodies.
From "A Wish in the Dark" by Christina Soontornvat
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.
