at a glance
9
3.0
- idiom
:
de un vistazo
- The resulting table allowed me to remember, at a glance, my thoughts about each title.
- see at a glance
So you know at a glance, this is a pair of strange bedfellows.
- So you know at a glance, this is a pair of strange bedfellows.
Examples
-
Look at the galaxy from above, and you can read everything at a glance.
Fiction book (1994) -
Because that way I can see at a glance how much work I did that day.
-
Anyone can see at a glance that the ball is going to break and that the green is very fast.
-
We're both able to figure people out at a glance.
-
Something told me at a glance that the evening had not gone well.
-
I can tell at a glance what is worth picking and what is not.
Fiction book (1992) -
I could tell at a glance these were articles I wanted.
Fiction book (2001) -
Theoretically, the new name and date let other users see at a glance when the file was last updated.
Academic text (2009) -
Rushing to a row of telephone booths, she saw at a glance that they were all in use.
Academic text (2016) -
You can see the score at a glance, making it easy to track your progress.
Synonyms
78
3.3
When you first see something and notice or feel something right away
32
3.5
You notice something before you look more closely
24
3.3
Immediately after you see or notice something
3
6.8
When you first look at something, it seems right before you check details
1
3.5
Very quickly, in an instant
Antonyms
How Quickly
330
1.0
9
3.0
Surface Forms
Morphology
at + a + glance
The meaning 'immediately, after a quick look' is directly and transparently derivable from 'glance' (a brief visual look) combined with the prepositional frame 'at a', so a B1 learner who knows the constituent words can infer the phrase. This composition is cross-linguistically common (e.g., Spanish 'de un vistazo', French 'd'un coup d'œil') and follows standard English locative/temporal phrasing, making it highly transparent.
Etymology
At a glance comes from the simple picture of seeing something with one quick look, a glance. So it means 'immediately' or 'after a quick look', when you can understand or notice something right away.