adjective
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directed or inclining to one side
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indirect or oblique
adverb
Etymology
Origin of sidelong
Explanation
A sidelong glance or facial expression is directed toward one side, and it's also usually skeptical or suspicious. If your brother promises to clean the whole house, you might react with a sidelong look at him. Sidelong can be used as an adjective or an adverb, so you can give your friend a sidelong glance when she starts reading the wrong paragraph aloud in English class, and you can also look sidelong at the kid beside you who's asleep and snoring at his desk. The adverb is older, and it comes from the Middle English sidlyng.
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.
And in Seehorn he found someone who, with a mere sidelong glance or knitted brow, can let you in on Gilligan’s secrets.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 6, 2026
Right from the inaugural sidelong sneak peek, the origin — the starting point.
From New York Times ● Oct. 13, 2022
On the screen was a boy, 11, in blue ear warmers and a jacket, being interviewed by one of the station’s reporters and giving a sidelong look and a sly half-grin.
From Seattle Times ● Apr. 7, 2022
This wouldn’t bother me at all, except it is a frequent topic of conversation, and I’ve gotten sidelong glances and been directly questioned about it.
From Washington Post ● Apr. 4, 2022
Under the pretext of holding up a measuring cup to see if he’d poured out enough armadillo bile, Harry sneaked a sidelong glance at the pair of them.
From "Harry Potter And The Goblet Of Fire" by J. K. Rowling
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.
