gleam
noun
a flash or beam of light.
had been gleaming
-
past perfect progressiveof gleam.past perfect progressive
Used to describe an action that was ongoing continuously in the past up until another past event interrupted it.
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.
Dunne had been here before many times, when there was rubble where there had been gleaming skyscrapers, and more recently when there was a massive pit where there had been rubble.
From Golf Digest ● Sep. 9, 2011
Sometime around midnight, the waxing moon, which had been gleaming through the port-side windows, dropped below the horizon, and Flight 447 was alone in the sky.
From New York Times ● May 4, 2011
On the line where the lights had been gleaming the night before, the workmen, just roused from sleep, were swarming.
From Love by Constance Garnett
The distant hills and cliffs, which had been gleaming in brightness, gleamed no longer.
From Hania by Henryk Sienkiewicz
His eyes burned with the strange flame that had been gleaming in Boggs's face out on the desert in the valley.
From The Judas Valley by Randall Garrett
