loom
To appear indistinctly, e.gTo appear indistinctly, e.g. when seen on the horizon or through the murk.
Recorded US: Dvortygirl, Public domain, Wikimedia Commons
» A silhouette loomed in the window.
В окне маячил чей-то силуэт. — marafon
AlanF_US · Tatoeba · CC BY 2.0 FRMeaning
3 senses(intransitive)To appear indistinctly, e.g. when seen on the horizon or through the murk.
The clouds loomed over the mountains.
(figuratively, intransitive)To appear in an exaggerated or threatening form; (of a person or thing) to tower; (of an idea) to impressively or intimidatingly occupy the mind; (of an event) to be imminent.
drohen, dräuen
нависа́тьnavisátʹ, нави́снутьnavísnutʹ
(figuratively, intransitive)To rise and to be eminent; to be elevated or ennobled, in a moral sense.
- weave on a loom
- appear very large or occupy a commanding position
- come into view indistinctly, often threateningly
- hang over, as of something threatening, dark, or menacing
Examples
31 sentencesA silhouette loomed in the window.
ruВ окне маячил чей-то силуэт. — marafon
The fear of failure looms over me.
I perceived an object looming through the mist.
The impending examination loomed large in her mind.
ruПредстоящий экзамен не давал ей покоя. — kukla
deDas anstehende Examen gab ihr keine Ruhe. — Olya
Many good grades will loom on the horizon.
Translations
5 languagesBy meaning 1
By meaning 1
Origin
Origin uncertain. Perhaps from Old Norse ljóma (“to shine, radiate”). Alternatively, perhaOrigin uncertain. Perhaps from Old Norse ljóma (“to shine, radiate”). Alternatively, perhaps related to Saterland Frisian loomje (“to limp, hobble”), German Low German lahmen (“to limp, hobble”), Swedish loma (“to go slowly”), Middle Dutch loemen (“to wreck, spoil”), Middle High German lüemen (“to become weak, limp, tire”); see English lame.
Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0 · source
Forms
looms, looming, loomed, loomedSynonyms
6 synonyms- appear very large or occupy a commanding position:towerpredominatehulk
- hang over, as of something threatening, dark, or menacing:broodhoverbulk large
Word family
4 related wordsLessons for this word
3 lessons- A1Present simple — Because it is a verb
- A1Past simple, regular verbs — Because of its past form
- A2Present perfect: introduction — Because of its past participle
See also
neighbours in the dictionaryDictionary text adapted from Wiktionary (Wiktionary contributors, CC BY-SA 4.0) and Open English WordNet / Princeton WordNet (CC BY 4.0, WordNet License); shared under CC BY-SA 4.0. Example sentences and recordings are credited where they appear.