What does "gleam" mean?
An appearance of light, especially one which is indistinct or small, or short-lived.
Gleam
/ɡliːm/ noun, verb
noun, verb ·Common ·High school level
Meaning at a glance
- Primary sense: An appearance of light, especially one which is indistinct or small, or short-lived.
- Grammar: gleam is listed as noun, verb.
- Nearest alternatives: glimmer, glow, afterglow, beam.
- Useful contrasts: darken, darkness, despair.
- Usage evidence: We saw the gleam of a distant lighthouse.
How to use "gleam"
- Start with the primary definition, then check the part of speech before placing the word in a sentence.
- Compare nearby synonyms to make sure "gleam" carries the exact meaning, tone, and strength you need.
- Use the example sentence as a context check. If your sentence uses the word differently, confirm that the grammar still fits.
Meaning check
- Does the word fit the sentence's grammar?
- Does it match the intended tone rather than only the dictionary definition?
- Would a simpler synonym be clearer for the reader?
- Is there enough surrounding context to prevent ambiguity?
Source and review context
This entry combines structured lexical data with WordToolSet review checks. Definitions, examples, synonyms, and usage notes may come from different source tables, so the page is designed to show evidence from more than one angle before you rely on "gleam" in a final draft.
If a word has several senses, prefer the sense that matches your sentence's grammar and surrounding context. A correct definition can still be the wrong choice when the sentence needs a different register, emphasis, or level of specificity.
Before you rely on this definition
Read the first definition as a starting point, then check the example, synonyms, and part of speech before treating "gleam" as the right word for your sentence.
If your draft is formal, technical, persuasive, or sensitive, compare "gleam" with a nearby alternative so the final choice matches both meaning and reader expectation.
Compare nearby meanings
- Use synonyms when you need a softer, stronger, simpler, or more specific word.
- Use antonyms to check the boundary of the meaning and avoid accidental contrast.
- Use the example sentence to confirm the word behaves naturally in context.
- Keep the original wording when a replacement adds complexity without improving precision.
Definition decision workflow
1. Identify the role
Check whether "gleam" is acting as noun, verb in your sentence. A definition is only useful when the grammar matches the way the word is being used.
2. Test the nearest option
Compare it with "glimmer" and other nearby choices to see whether the sentence needs a softer, stronger, or more familiar word.
3. Confirm with context
Use the example sentence below as an evidence check, then read your own sentence out loud to catch tone or rhythm problems.
Review note: Definition pages are checked for source coverage, sentence evidence, synonym support, and editorial insight before they are treated as approval-ready pages. If the evidence is too thin, the page remains available to users but is kept out of the approval-facing indexed inventory.
Final meaning check
Before publishing a sentence with "gleam", ask whether the word helps the reader understand the idea faster. A precise word should reduce confusion, not simply make the sentence look more polished.
When the definition, synonym evidence, and example context point in the same direction, the word is usually a safer choice. When they conflict, revise the sentence or choose a clearer alternative.
Definitions
Noun
- 1 An appearance of light, especially one which is indistinct or small, or short-lived. countable
"Is not yon gleame, the ſhuddering morne that flakes, / VVith ſiluer tinctur, the eaſt vierge of heauen?"
- 2 an appearance of reflected light wordnet
- 3 An indistinct sign of something; a glimpse or hint. countable, figuratively, uncountable
"The rescue workers preserved a gleam of optimism that the trapped miners might still survive."
- 4 a flash of light (especially reflected light) wordnet
- 5 A bright, but intermittent or short-lived, appearance of something. countable, figuratively, uncountable
Show 3 more definitions
- 6 A look of joy or liveliness on one's face. countable, figuratively, uncountable
"[H]is black visage lighted up with a curious, mischievous gleam."
- 7 Sometimes as hot gleam: a warm ray of sunlight; also, a period of warm weather, for instance, between showers of rain. countable, obsolete
"The Pepper-trees live in Italie; the ſhrub of Caſia or the Canell likevviſe in the Northerly regions; the Frankincenſe tree alſo hath been knovvne to live in Lydia: but vvhere vvere the hote gleames of the Sunne to be found in thoſe regions, either to drie up the vvateriſh humor of the one, or to concot and thicken the gumme and roſin of the other?"
- 8 Brightness or shininess; radiance, splendour. obsolete, uncountable
"Then vvas the faire Dodonian tree far ſeene, / Vpon ſeauen hills to ſpread his gladſome gleame, / And conquerours bedecked vvith his greene, / Along the bancks of the Auſonian ſtreame: […]"
Verb
- 1 Chiefly in conjunction with an adverb: to cause (light) to shine. transitive
"Many a dry drop ſeem'd a vveeping teare, / Shed for the ſlaughtred husband by the vvife. / The red bloud reek'd to ſhevv the Painters ſtrife, / And dying eyes gleem'd forth their aſhie lights, / Like dying coales burnt out in tedious nights."
- 2 Of a hawk or other bird of prey: to disgorge filth from its crop or gorge. intransitive, obsolete
"Gleam, a term uſed after a hawk hath caſt and gleameth, or throweth up filth from her gorge."
- 3 to shine with faint or brief light wordnet
- 4 To shine, especially in an indistinct or intermittent manner; to glisten, to glitter. intransitive
"Quick to redeem the Prey their plighted Lords / Advance, the Palace gleams vvith ſhining Svvords."
- 5 shine brightly, like a star or a light wordnet
Show 2 more definitions
- 6 To be strongly but briefly apparent. figuratively, intransitive
"Mr. Crawley spoke these words without hesitation, even with eloquence, standing upright, and with something of a noble anger gleaming over his poor wan face; and, I think that while speaking them, he was happier than he had been for many a long day."
- 7 be shiny, as if wet wordnet
Example
"We saw the gleam of a distant lighthouse."
Common questions
What is a synonym for "gleam"?
Common synonyms include: glimmer, glow, afterglow, beam, bedazzle, blaze.
How do you use "gleam" in a sentence?
We saw the gleam of a distant lighthouse.
How do you pronounce "gleam"?
Pronounced /ɡliːm/.
Etymology
Etymology 1
From Middle English glem, gleam, gleme (“shaft of light; part of a comet’s tail; reflected sparkle; dawn; daylight; radiance (physical or spiritual); something fleeting”), from Old English glǣm (“gleam”), from Proto-Germanic *glaimiz (“brightness; splendour”), from Proto-Indo-European *ǵʰley- (“to shine”). Cognates * German Low German Gleem (“shine, luster, gloss”) * Faroese glæma (“gleam, glimmer”) * Old High German glīmen (“to glow, shine”); gleimo, glīmo (“glowworm”) (Middle High German glīme, gleime) * Old Saxon glīmo (“brightness”)
Etymology 2
From Middle English glemen (“to shine; to glance, look”) [and other forms], from glem, gleam (noun) (see etymology 1) + -en (suffix forming the infinitive of verbs). Cognate with German Low German glemen (“to glow, shine”).
Etymology 3
A variant of Middle English gleimen, gleym (“to smear; to make slimy or sticky; to fill up (the stomach); to nauseate; of a slimy or viscous substance: to be stuck together; (figuratively) to captivate, ensnare; to infect with heresy”) [and other forms], probably a blend of glet (“slimy or viscous matter produced by animals; mucus, phlegm; congestion of mucus or phlegm in the body; viscosity”), gleu (“substance used to stick things together, glue; viscous medicine made from plants”), etc. + Old Norse kleima (“to daub, smear”) (whence Old English clǣman (“to smear”)) (ultimately from Proto-Germanic *klaimijaną (“to smear with clay, to mortar”), from *klaimaz (“clay; mortar”), from Proto-Indo-European *gleh₁y- (“to glue, stick; to smear”)).