glimpse

Other forms: glimpses; glimpsed; glimpsing

If you had a brief or incomplete look at something, you had a glimpse. “He didn’t mean to peek, but he got a glimpse of his birthday present when his wife tried to sneak it into the house. Of course, it’s pretty hard to hide a ladder.”

You can use glimpse as a noun (like when you “catch a glimpse of someone”) or as a verb (like when you “glimpse in someone’s direction”). Although the word glimpse is usually used to describe the physical act of sneaking a peek at something, you can also use the noun glimpse to indicate a vague idea or suggestion. Perhaps, you can have a glimpse into your future by observing your parents’ actions or by consulting a Tarot card reader.