MEANING
To see something for a short moment or only partly.
Use it for
Words that belong together
- glimpse a figure
- glimpse the future
On the page
Through the window, she glimpsed a figure crossing the yard.
Nearby words
Word forms
- Base
- glimpse
- Past tense
- glimpsed
- Past participle
- glimpsed
- Present participle
- glimpsing
Full tense & aspect guide
- Present
- glimpse
- Present continuous
- am/is/are glimpsing
- Present perfect
- have/has glimpsed
- Present perfect continuous
- have/has been glimpsing
- Past
- glimpsed
- Past continuous
- was/were glimpsing
- Past perfect
- had glimpsed
- Past perfect continuous
- had been glimpsing
- Future
- will glimpse
- Future continuous
- will be glimpsing
- Future perfect
- will have glimpsed
- Future perfect continuous
- will have been glimpsing
Choose the auxiliary that agrees with your subject. These are constructions of one word, not separate entries.
Usage notes
Primary category: literary / elevated general. Forms: glimpse; glimpses; glimpsed; glimpsed; glimpsing Legacy lexical fields mirror sense 1 only. Use numbered sense fields for all meanings. Established modern English lexical item. No separate regional spelling or grammatical inflection entry. Commonness: moderately common. Third-person singular: glimpses.
Practice this word in a sentenceYour margin notes
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