gleam

UK: /ˈgliːm/ US: /glim/ ,(glēm)

WordReference Random House Learner's Dictionary of American English © 2025

gleam /glim/   n. [countable]

1. a flash or beam of light:
   the gleam of a lantern.
2. a subdued or reflected light:
   the gleam of the full moon.
3. a slight showing;
   trace:
   a gleam of hope.

v. [no object]

4. to send forth a gleam or gleams:
   He polished the silver until it gleamed.
5. to appear suddenly:
   A lantern gleamed in the darkness.

WordReference Random House Unabridged Dictionary of American English © 2025

gleam  (glēm), n. 

1. a flash or beam of light:
   the gleam of a lantern in the dark.
2. a dim or subdued light.
3. a brief or slight manifestation or occurrence;
   trace:
   a gleam of hope.

v.i. 

4. to send forth a gleam or gleams.
5. to appear suddenly and clearly like a flash of light.

• bef. 1000; (noun, nominal) Middle English glem(e), Old English glǣm; cognate with Old High German gleimo glowworm; akin to Old Saxon glīmo brightness; (verb, verbal) Middle English, derivative of the noun, nominal See glimmer, glimpse

gleam′ing•ly, adv. 
gleam′less, adj. 
Synonyms

• 1. Gleam, glimmer, beam, ray are terms for a stream of light.
  Gleam denotes a not very brilliant, intermittent or nondirectional stream of light.
  Glimmer indicates a nondirectional light that is feeble and unsteady:
  a faint glimmer of moonlight.
  Beam usually means a directional, and therefore smaller, stream:
  the beam from a searchlight.
  Ray usually implies a still smaller amount of light than a beam, a single line of light:
  a ray through a pinprick in a window shade.
• 4. shine, glimmer, flash, glitter, sparkle, beam.

Collins Concise English Dictionary © HarperCollins Publishers::

gleam / ɡliːm/ noun

1. a small beam or glow of light, esp reflected light
2. a brief or dim indication: a gleam of hope

verb (intransitive)

1. to send forth or reflect a beam of light
2. to appear, esp briefly

Etymology: Old English glǣm; related to Old Norse gljā to flicker, Old High German gleimo glow-worm, glīmo brightness, Old Irish glē bright

ˈgleaming adjective

ˈgleamy adjective