/ glɑːns; NAmE glæns/ verb , noun
■ verb [ v + adv. / prep. ]
1.
to look quickly at sth/sb :
She glanced at her watch.
He glanced around the room.
I glanced up quickly to see who had come in.
2.
glance at / down / over / through sth to read sth quickly and not thoroughly
SYN scan :
I only had time to glance at the newspapers.
He glanced briefly down the list of names.
She glanced through the report.
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PHRASAL VERBS
- glance on / off sth
- glance off (sth)
■ noun
glance (at sb/sth) 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.
➡ note at look
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IDIOMS
- at a (single) glance
- at first glance
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WORD ORIGIN
late 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 .