glance

glance¹ / glans/ • v. [intr.] 1. take a brief or hurried look: Ginny glanced at her watch. ∎  (glance at/through) read quickly or cursorily: I glanced through your personnel file last night. 2. hit something at an angle and bounce off obliquely: he saw a stone glance off a crag and hit Tom on the head. ∎  (esp. of light) reflect off something with a brief flash: sunlight glanced off the curved body of a dolphin. ∎  [tr.] (in ball games) deflect (the ball) slightly with a delicate contact: he glanced the ball into the right corner of the net. • n. 1. a brief or hurried look: Sean and Michael exchanged glances. 2. poetic/lit. a flash or gleam of light. PHRASES: at a glance immediately upon looking: she saw at a glance what had happened. at first glance when seen or considered for the first time, esp. briefly: good news, at first glance, for frequent travelers. glance one's eye archaic look briefly: glancing his severe eye around the group.DERIVATIVES: glanc·ing·ly adv. glance² • n. a shiny sulfide ore of lead, copper, or other metal.