glance

verb

/ɡlɑːns/

/ɡlæns/

Verb Forms

present simple I / you / we / they glance	/ɡlɑːns/ /ɡlæns/
he / she / it glances	/ˈɡlɑːnsɪz/ /ˈɡlænsɪz/
past simple glanced	/ɡlɑːnst/ /ɡlænst/
past participle glanced	/ɡlɑːnst/ /ɡlænst/
-ing form glancing	/ˈɡlɑːnsɪŋ/ /ˈɡlænsɪŋ/

Phrasal Verbs

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[intransitive] + adv./prep. to look quickly at something/somebody
- She glanced at her watch.
- He glanced around the room.
- I glanced up quickly to see who had come in.
Extra Examples
- At that moment she happened to glance up.
- He glanced covertly at his watch.
- He glanced curiously around him.
- He glanced towards the kitchen.
- He turned to glance in our direction.
- Norton glanced sharply at him.
- She barely glanced at him.
- She glanced across to where the others were standing chatting.
- She glanced nervously over her shoulder.
- glancing curiously about him
Oxford Collocations Dictionary
adverb
- briefly
- quickly
- sharply
- …
verb + glance
- pause to
- turn to
- happen to
- …
preposition
- about
- around
- round
- …
See full entry
[intransitive] glance at/down/over/through something to read something quickly and not carefully or completely synonym scan
- I only had time to glance at my emails.
- He glanced briefly down the list of names.
- She glanced through the report.
Extra Examples
- She glanced through the report on the way to the meeting.
- She glanced briefly at his lapel badge.
Oxford Collocations Dictionary
adverb
- briefly
- quickly
- sharply
- …
verb + glance
- pause to
- turn to
- happen to
- …
preposition
- about
- around
- round
- …
See full entry

Word Originlate Middle English (in the sense ‘rebound obliquely’): probably a nasalized form of obsolete glace in the same sense, from Old French glacier ‘to slip’, from glace ‘ice’, based on Latin glacies.

glance

noun

/ɡlɑːns/

/ɡlæns/

Idioms

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glance (at somebody/something) a quick look
- to take/have a glance at the newspaper headlines
- a cursory/brief/casual/furtive glance
- The sisters exchanged glances (= looked at each other).
- She shot him a sideways glance.
- He walked away without a backward glance.
- She stole a glance (= looked secretly) at her watch.
Synonyms look
look
- glance
- gaze
- stare
- glimpse
- glare
These are all words for an act of looking, when you turn your eyes in a particular direction.
- look an act of looking at somebody/something:
  Here, have a look at this.
- glance a quick look:
  She stole a glance at her watch.
- gaze a long, steady look at somebody/something:
  She felt embarrassed under his steady gaze.
- stare a long look at somebody/something, especially in a way that is unfriendly or that shows surprise:
  She gave the officer a blank stare and shrugged her shoulders.
- glimpse a look at somebody/something for a very short time, when you do not see the person or thing completely:
  He caught a glimpse of her in the crowd.
- glare a long, angry look at somebody/something:
  She fixed her questioner with a hostile glare.
Patterns
- a look/glance at somebody/something
- a penetrating/piercing look/glance/gaze/stare
- a long look/glance/stare
- a brief look/glance/glimpse
- to have/get/take a look/glance/glimpse
- to avoid somebody’s glance/gaze/stare
Extra Examples
- He stole a sidelong glance at the young woman sitting next to him on the train.
- After a cursory glance at the report he frowned.
- He gave her a mocking glance.
- He ignored my glance of disapproval.
- He kept throwing nervous glances over his shoulder.
- Her glance flickered briefly across to the group standing at the other side of the street.
- His glance fell on a pile of papers at one side of the desk.
- I caught the teacher's glance and nearly burst into nervous laughter.
- I had a quick glance at the article, but I haven't read it yet.
- Meena threw him an angry glance.
- She cast a sidelong glance at Fern.
- She took one last glance in the mirror and then left.
- The couple exchanged meaningful glances but said nothing.
- The man walked slowly along, casting furtive glances behind him.
- Their car attracted admiring glances wherever they went.
- Their glances met, then they both looked away.
- They exchanged knowing glances.
- With a quick glance at the time, she stood up and prepared to leave.
- I caught his glance and nearly burst into laughter.
- I had a glance at the newspaper headlines as I waited at the counter.
- The boss gave the figures a cursory glance and nodded.
Oxford Collocations Dictionary
adjective
- backward
- sidelong
- sideways
- …
verb + glance
- cast (somebody)
- dart
- give (somebody/something)
- …
glance + verb
- move
- meet
- fall on somebody/something
- …
preposition
- at a glance
- with a glance
- without a glance
- …
phrases
- at first glance
See full entry
Word Originlate Middle English (in the sense ‘rebound obliquely’): probably a nasalized form of obsolete glace in the same sense, from Old French glacier ‘to slip’, from glace ‘ice’, based on Latin glacies.

Idioms

at first glance

when you first look at or think about something, often rather quickly
- At first glance the problem seemed easy.
- At first glance the contract seemed to be fine.

at a (single) glance

immediately; with only a quick look
- He could tell at a glance what was wrong.
- The software allows you to see at a glance what fonts you have on the computer.