glancing
Americanadjective
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striking obliquely and bouncing off at an angle.
a glancing blow.
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brief and indirect.
glancing references to his dubious past.
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of glancing
Explanation
If you describe something as glancing, that means it's quick and angled, like the glancing blow you give a fellow actor with your stunt sword. An onstage sword fight, especially one that's played for comedy, is full of glancing hits. These are aimed to bounce, or glance, off their objects. The oldest use of glancing is "strike obliquely, without full impact," from an Old French word meaning "to make slippery." Another way to use this adjective is to mean "indirect," like the glancing references you make to dogs in every conversation with your parents, hoping they'll get the hint and adopt a puppy.
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.
Leah Williamson's glancing header - the Gunners' seventh against Leicester - also took their tally to 103 goals under Slegers.
From BBC • Apr. 29, 2026
However, the Met Office Space Weather Prediction Centre suggests there is a low chance of a "glancing blow" of energy on Tuesday night where the aurora could reappear in northern Scotland.
From BBC • Mar. 24, 2026
Lucca's glancing header from Omari Hutchinson's cross showed the cutting edge that Forest lacked for the previous 85 minutes.
From Barron's • Feb. 6, 2026
“I don’t understand,” they say, glancing down at their EBT card.
From Salon • Jan. 3, 2026
He kept glancing over his shoulder, like he was being followed.
From "The First State of Being" by Erin Entrada Kelly
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.
