# glance

Pronunciation: US say "GLANS" /ɡlæns/; UK/AUS say "GLAHNS" /ɡlɑːns/

## Noun

1. A brief or cursory look directed at something or someone.
   - Simple: A quick, short look at something or someone.
   - _He cast a glance over the figures but read none of them closely._
   - _Her glance toward the clock made her boredom obvious._
7. A flash or glitter produced when something moves quickly and catches the light, or the movement that produces it.
   - Simple: A quick movement that catches light and makes a flash.
   - _The glance of moonlight off the waves shimmered through the night._
   - _Each turn of the wheel threw a glance of light onto the ceiling._
12. A cricket stroke in which the ball is struck with the bat held at a slant.
   - Simple: A cricket hit made with the bat held at a slant.
   - _A well-timed glance took the ball away to the leg side for four._
   - _His glance off the back foot beat the fielder with ease._
22. Ellipsis of glance coal. — Ellipsis of glance coal (“any hard, lustrous coal such as anthracite”).
   - Simple: Short for glance coal. Use it for a hard, shiny kind of coal.
23. Any of various mostly dark-colored sulfide minerals having a brilliant metallic luster.
   - Simple: A shiny, mostly dark mineral made of metal joined with sulfur.
   - _The geologist labeled the specimen as copper glance._
   - _Veins of lead glance ran through the limestone._
25. A brief brush of a young fish against its parent's body, typically to feed on the mucus the parent secretes, seen chiefly in cichlids.
   - Simple: A quick touch of a parent's side by some young fish, usually to eat its slime.
   - _Researchers timed each glance the fry made against the brooding adults._
   - _The youngest fry made frequent glances off their parents' sides, taking in mucus with every touch._

## Verb

2. To look briefly, often turning the eyes toward a person or thing.
   - Simple: To look at something or someone for a very short time.
   - _He glanced over his shoulder to see who was behind him._
   - _Nervous travelers glance at the departure board every few minutes._
3. To direct a brief look toward a specific thing.
   - Simple: To look quickly at a particular thing.
   - _He glanced at the headline and folded the paper away._
   - _Shoppers glance at the price tags before deciding._
4. To turn one's eyes or gaze toward something, often only briefly.
   - Simple: To turn your eyes toward something for a moment.
   - _He glanced his eyes over the waiting passengers, searching for his daughter._
   - _Editors glance their eyes down each column before approving the layout._
5. Of light: to gleam or sparkle.
   - Simple: To shine with quick flashes of light.
   - _The morning sun glanced on the rippling surface of the pond._
   - _Crystals glance whenever the chandelier is switched on._
6. Of an object: to move so that it catches the light and flashes or glitters.
   - Simple: To move in a way that catches light and flashes.
   - _Her bracelet glanced with every turn of her wrist._
   - _Schools of fish glance as they dart through the sunlit shallows._
8. To communicate something to someone using one's eyes.
   - Simple: To send a feeling or message to someone using your eyes.
   - _He glanced his approval to her before anyone else noticed._
   - _Teammates glance silent signals to each other during a tense rally._
9. To strike a surface and fly off at an angle, or dart suddenly to one side.
   - Simple: To hit something and bounce off to one side.
   - _The bullet glanced off the armored plate and buried itself in the wall._
   - _Hailstones glance off the steep roof and scatter across the yard._
10. To cause something to move off at an angle.
   - Simple: To make something move off to one side.
   - _She glanced the flat stone across the pond in a long series of skips._
   - _Defenders glance the clearance off a teammate to keep possession._
11. To hit a ball lightly so that it deflects and moves off in another direction.
   - Simple: To hit a ball gently so it changes direction.
   - _She glanced the ball off her pads toward the boundary._
   - _Batsmen often glance the ball down to the leg side for easy singles._
13. In cricket, to deflect the ball to one side using a slanted bat.
   - Simple: To play a cricket shot by holding the bat at a slant.
   - _He glanced fine and the ball raced away to the rope._
   - _Batsmen often glance off their pads to steal a quick run._
14. To strike a cricket ball with the bat held at a slant, deflecting it to one side; also, to play such a stroke against a particular bowler.
   - Simple: To hit a cricket ball with a slanted bat so it goes off to one side.
   - _The batsman glanced the rising ball fine to the leg-side boundary._
   - _Tail-enders rarely glance the ball with the control of a top-order player._
15. To make a brief or passing remark about a topic, often unfavorably; to allude to it or hint at it.
   - Simple: To mention something briefly, often in a critical way.
   - _Reviewers tend to glance at the author's politics rather than confront them directly._
   - _In her memoir she only glances at the betrayal that ended the friendship._
24. Of certain juvenile fish, chiefly cichlids, to rapidly touch the side of a parent's body, usually to feed on its mucus.
   - Simple: To quickly touch a parent's side, usually to eat its slime, said of some young fish.
   - _Newly hatched discus glance against both parents to graze on the protective mucus._
   - _Between short swims, the fry glanced off the female's flanks, feeding on the mucus coating her skin._

## Verb

16. To move with a quick, sudden motion, like something darting or shooting. *(obsolete)*
   - Simple: To move very fast, darting or shooting forward.
18. To pass close by something without coming into contact with it. *(obsolete)*
   - Simple: To pass close by something without touching it.
   - _The blade glanced by his cheek, missing him entirely._
   - _Carriages glance by the market stalls, their wheels nearly brushing the wares._
19. To touch something lightly or at an oblique angle; to graze. *(obsolete)*
   - Simple: To touch something lightly or at an angle, just grazing it.
   - _Swords glance each other in a feint before the real blow lands._
   - _The scythe glanced the stone hidden in the grass and threw off sparks._
20. To make a passing, often unfavorable reflection upon a topic; to express such a reflection. *(obsolete)*
   - Simple: To make a brief, often critical remark about something.
   - _Poets often glance the failings of their patrons under cover of praise._
   - _The pamphlet glanced the minister's corruption in a few sly sentences._

## Noun

17. A striking blow followed by movement off at an angle; a deflection. *(obsolete)*
   - Simple: A hit that sends something bouncing off to one side.
21. A passing allusion or thought about a topic, often unfavorable. *(obsolete)*
   - Simple: A brief, often critical comment or hint about a topic.
   - _The review contained more than one glance at the author's borrowed ideas._
   - _Her letter closed with a cool glance at his broken promises._

## Other meanings

- (verb) To make light flash or glitter, as by reflecting it.

## Origin

**Meanings 1–21, 24–25** — The verb comes from Late Middle English 'glenchen' ('of a blow, to strike obliquely; of a person, to dodge aside'), a blend of Old French 'glacier' ('to slide, slip', from 'glace' 'ice') and Old French 'guenchir' ('to avoid, change direction'), which traces back through Proto-West Germanic to Proto-Indo-European '*weng-' ('to bend'). The noun comes from the verb, and the sense 'to look briefly' probably arose from partial blending with Middle English 'glenten' ('to look askance'), the ancestor of 'glint'.
**Meanings 22–23** — From Late Middle English 'glaunce', borrowed from Middle High German 'glanz' ('gleaming, sparkling'; as a noun, 'a gleam or sparkle'), from Old High German 'glanz' ('bright'), ultimately from Proto-Indo-European '*gʰlend-'.

Source: DictionaryAI, https://dictionaryai.com/define/glance (written from Wiktionary data, CC BY-SA 4.0: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/).