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Definition of gleam noun from the Oxford Advanced Learner's Dictionary

gleam

noun
 
/ɡliːm/
 
/ɡliːm/
[usually singular]
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  1. a pale clear light, often reflected from something
    • We could see the gleam of moonlight on the water.
    • a gleam of light from a lamp
    • A few gleams of sunshine lit up the gloomy afternoon.
    • I saw the gleam of the knife as it flashed through the air.
    Extra Examples
    • a faint gleam of light from the doorway
    • the distant gleam of the sea
    Oxford Collocations Dictionaryadjective
    • dull
    • faint
    • distant
    preposition
    • gleam of
    phrases
    • a gleam of light
    See full entry
  2. a small amount of something
    • a faint gleam of hope
    • a serious book with an occasional gleam of humour
  3. an expression of a particular feeling or emotion that shows in somebody’s eyes synonym glint
    • a gleam of triumph in her eyes
    • a mischievous gleam in his eye
    • The gleam in his eye made her uncomfortable (= as if he was planning something secret or unpleasant).
    • A sudden gleam came into her eye as she remembered that tomorrow was her day off.
    • He had a speculative gleam in his eyes.
    Oxford Collocations Dictionaryadjective
    • cold
    • dark
    • strange
    verb + gleam
    • have
    gleam + verb
    • come into somebody’s eye/​eyes
    • enter somebody’s eye/​eyes
    • light somebody’s eye/​eyes
    preposition
    • gleam of
    phrases
    • a gleam in somebody’s eye/​eyes
    See full entry
  4. Word OriginOld English glǣm ‘brilliant light’, of Germanic origin.
See gleam in the Oxford Advanced American Dictionary

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