gleam

verb

/ɡliːm/

Verb Forms

present simple I / you / we / they gleam	/ɡliːm/ /ɡliːm/
he / she / it gleams	/ɡliːmz/ /ɡliːmz/
past simple gleamed	/ɡliːmd/ /ɡliːmd/
past participle gleamed	/ɡliːmd/ /ɡliːmd/
-ing form gleaming	/ˈɡliːmɪŋ/ /ˈɡliːmɪŋ/

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[intransitive] to shine with a pale clear light
- The moonlight gleamed on the water.
- Her eyes gleamed in the dark.
Synonyms shine
shine
- gleam
- glow
- sparkle
- glisten
- shimmer
- glitter
- twinkle
- glint
These words all mean to produce or reflect light.
- shine to produce or reflect light, especially brightly:
  The sun was shining and the sky was blue.
- gleam to shine with a clear bright or pale light, especially a reflected light:
  Moonlight gleamed on the water.
- glow (often of something hot or warm) to produce a steady light that is not very bright:
  The end of his cigarette glowed red.
- sparkle to shine brightly with small flashes of light:
  The diamonds sparkled in the light.
- glisten (of something wet) to shine:
  The road glistened wet after the rain.
- shimmer to shine with a soft light that seems to shake slightly:
  Everything seemed to shimmer in the heat.
- glitter to shine brightly with small flashes of reflected light:
  The ceiling of the cathedral glittered with gold.
sparkle or glitter?There is very little difference in meaning between these two words. Glitter can sometimes suggest a lack of depth, but this is more frequent in the figurative use of glitter as a noun: the superficial glitter of show business. Sparkle is also often used to talk about light reflected off a surface, but things that produce light can also sparkle: Stars sparkled in the sky.
- twinkle to shine with a light that changes rapidly from bright to faint to bright again:
  Stars twinkled in the sky.
- glint to give small bright flashes of reflected light:
  The blade of the knife glinted in the darkness.
Patterns
- to shine/gleam/sparkle/glisten/shimmer/glitter/glint on something
- to shine/gleam/glow/sparkle/glisten/shimmer/glitter/twinkle/glint with something
- to shine/gleam/sparkle/glisten/shimmer/glitter/glint in the sunlight
- to shine/gleam/glisten/shimmer/glitter/glint in the moonlight
- the stars shine/sparkle/glitter/twinkle
- somebody’s eyes shine/gleam/glow/sparkle/glisten/glitter/twinkle/glint
- to shine/gleam/glow/glitter brightly
- to shine/gleam/glow/shimmer softly
Extra Examples
- The knife's blade gleamed dully in the dark.
- A light gleamed faintly from a first floor window.
- The evening light gleamed softly through the window.
Oxford Collocations Dictionary
adverb
- dully
- faintly
- softly
- …
preposition
- with
phrases
- gleam golden, white, etc.
See full entry
[intransitive] to look very clean or bright
- gleam (with something) The house was gleaming with fresh white paint.
- + adj. Her teeth gleamed white against the tanned skin of her face.
Extra Examples
- The long oak table gleamed with polish.
- The pebble beach gleamed white in the moonlight.
[intransitive] if a person’s eyes gleam with a particular emotion, or an emotion gleams in a person’s eyes, the person shows that emotion
- gleam (with something) His eyes gleamed with amusement.
- gleam (in something) Amusement gleamed in his eyes.
- Laughter gleamed in his eyes.

Word OriginOld English glǣm ‘brilliant light’, of Germanic origin.

gleam

noun

/ɡliːm/

[usually singular]

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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 Dictionary
adjective
- dull
- faint
- distant
- …
preposition
- gleam of
phrases
- a gleam of light
See full entry
a small amount of something
- a faint gleam of hope
- a serious book with an occasional gleam of humour
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 Dictionary
adjective
- 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

Word OriginOld English glǣm ‘brilliant light’, of Germanic origin.