glimpse

/ɡlɪm(p)s/

//ɡlɪm(p)s// verb

By · According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA) ·

"glimpse" is a 7-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.

The verdict

“glimpse” has 11 generated spelling variants in the English index at frequency #9,475. The variants make it a useful spelling check.

#9,475
frequency rank, English
2,313
“G” headwords
11
tracked misspellings

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - To see or view (someone, or something tangible) briefly and incompletely.

Corpus desk

Index EN-glimpse · glimpse · English

glimpse · rank #9,475 · 11 variants · 0 confusables

  • FREQ-COMMON #9,475
  • LEN-LONG 7 letters
  • VOW-2 2 vowels
  • CONFUS-0 No pairs
  • VAR-MID 11 variants
  • BOOK-MID 2,313
  • PHOTO-FINISH gal

Nearest frequency peer: gal (-1 rank slots)

Read with this headword: Spelling guide for this pattern

Desk codes from Wiktionary headword shape, FrequencyWords rank tier, confusable-pair count, generated misspelling depth, letter-cohort book size, and photo-finish peer. Not a difficulty grade.

Rank peers near misspelling magnet “glimpse”

Same rarity band: useful when a typo lands on a peer headword

corpus weight

What this shows “glimpse” sits among these FrequencyWords peers; misspelling depth is tracked separately in the edit-distance chart.

Source FrequencyWords open word-frequency list As of September 3, 2026
Key facts for glimpse
PropertyValue
Headwordglimpse
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechVerb
IPA/ɡlɪm(p)s/
Letters7
Frequency rank#9,475
Misspellings tracked11
Confusable pairs0
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Frequency seat of misspelling magnet “glimpse”

Word frequency stretches from the small set of words we reach for constantly (left) out to the long tail barely used once in a while (right).glimpselands here:

#1#100#1K#10K#100K
← used constantlyrarely used →

The axis is logarithmic, with each marked tick roughly ten times rarer than the last. Same rarity band neighbours include “gal” (#9,474), “fundraising” (#9,473), “hawk” (#9,477). Among 2,313 “G” headwords, “glimpse” is #9,475. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

A misspelling magnet

The generator records 11 spelling variants around glimpse (IPA /ɡlɪm(p)s/), averb. Corpus frequency is #9,475 among 2,313 “G” headwords. Wiktionary lists 6 senses, so context still picks the gloss.

Our generated misspelling index lists 11 likely wrong-spelling variants for glimpse, with forms such as "gglimpse", "gilmpse", and "glimmpse". Every one of these variants traces to a single-character edit -- an added or dropped letter, a swapped consonant, or a vowel swap -- the kind of slip a spell-checker is built to catch. This headword has no recorded confusable partner, which typically means the spelling is too distinctive to be mistaken for another word.

Etymologically, the entry records: The verb is derived from earlier glimse (obsolete), from Middle English glimsen (“to dazzle; to glisten; to glance with the eyes”), possibly from Old English *glimsian, from Proto-West Germanic *glimmisōjan, from Proto-Germanic *glimō, from Proto-Indo-Europ… The correct English form is glimpse, spelled G-L-I-M-P-S-E.

Definition

  1. 1
    To see or view (someone, or something tangible) briefly and incompletely.
  2. 2
    To perceive (something intangible) briefly and incompletely.
  3. 3
    Chiefly followed by at or upon: to look at briefly and incompletely; to glance.
  4. 4
    To shine with a faint, unsteady light; to glimmer, to shimmer.
  5. 5
    To appear or start to appear, especially faintly or unclearly; to dawn.
  6. 6
    Sometimes followed by out: to provide a brief and incomplete look.

Recorded use

Wiktionary examples

These source excerpts show how glimpse appears in context. They illustrate usage; the definition above remains the entry’s reference meaning.

  1. Morning!—the Vestal Mother of the Sun / Seem'st thou to be, since from thy bosom born, / (Thou that first glimpsest—like a white-stoled nun!—) / He springeth forth—Oh! thou triumphal Morn!— / His race of glory and of joy to run; […]
  2. Those wild hills are surely the outpost of a frightful cosmic race—as I doubt all the less since reading that a new ninth planet has been glimpsed beyond Neptune, just as those influences had said it would be glimpsed.

Etymology

The verb is derived from earlier glimse (obsolete), from Middle English glimsen (“to dazzle; to glisten; to glance with the eyes”), possibly from Old English *glimsian, from Proto-West Germanic *glimmisōjan, from Proto-Germanic *glimō, from Proto-Indo-European *ǵʰley- (“to shine”). Doublet of glimmer. The noun is derived from the verb. Cognates Middle Dutch glinsen (modern Dutch glinsteren (“to glint, glitter, shimmer, sparkle; to glance”), glimmen (“to gleam, shine”)) Middle High German glimsen (“to glow, smoulder”), glinsen (“to glimmer, shine”) Middle Low German glinsen, glintzen, glinzen (“to shimmer, shine”)

This word in other languages

atisbar(Español)entrevoir(Français)entdecken(Deutsch)

Common misspellings

Also misspelled as:

  • gglimpse
  • gilmpse
  • glimmpse
  • glimpes
  • glimppse
  • glimpsse
  • glimspe
  • glipmse
  • gllimpse
  • glmipse
  • lgimpse

Misspelling Pattern Breakdown

How far each generated variant is from the correct spelling of glimpse - counted as single-character edits (an insertion, a deletion, or a substituted letter). The larger the bar, the easier the typo is to spot; one-edit slips are the ones that sneak past readers.

gglimpse1gilmpse2glimmpse1glimpes2glimppse1glimpsse1glimspe2glipmse2
Edit distance from "glimpse"

Definitions, pronunciation, and etymology for this entry are drawn from Wiktionary via the kaikki.org structured extract (CC BY-SA); frequency ordering uses the FrequencyWords open word-frequency list (2018 English corpus, MIT). See the methodology for how each field is sourced and updated.

Frequently Asked Questions

How do you spell "glimpse"?
"glimpse" is spelled G-L-I-M-P-S-E. The IPA pronunciation is /ɡlɪm(p)s/.
What does "glimpse" mean?
As a verb, "glimpse" means: To see or view (someone, or something tangible) briefly and incompletely.
What are common misspellings of "glimpse"?
Common misspellings include "gglimpse", "gilmpse", "glimmpse", "glimpes", "glimppse". The correct spelling is "glimpse".
How do you pronounce "glimpse"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "glimpse" is /ɡlɪm(p)s/. Click the speaker icon on the pronunciation badge above to hear it spoken aloud where audio is available.
What is the origin of the word "glimpse"?
The verb is derived from earlier glimse (obsolete), from Middle English glimsen (“to dazzle; to glisten; to glance with the eyes”), possibly from Old English *glimsian, from Proto-West Germanic *glimmisōjan, from Proto-Germanic *glimō, from Proto-... See the full etymology section above for more details.
Is PlainSpell free to use?
Yes, PlainSpell is a completely free word reference. You can look up definitions, pronunciations, confusable pairs, homophones, and spelling corrections across 5 languages without any sign-up or subscription.

Similar English words by spelling shape

Same letter count and similar misspelling depth for "glimpse", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

Frequency-ranked English headwords with 7 letters (nearest by frequency rank).

exhaust#9,467insulin#9,485Eleanor#9,464eclipse#9,462

Similar misspelling depth

Headwords with a similar count of attested misspellings (11 here; floor ≥5).

homemade11 variantsinferior11 variantseighteen11 variantsLindsay11 variants

Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) Structured Wiktionary extract

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list