glancing blow
noun
: a blow with less than full force that falls off to one side
The falling tile struck him with a glancing blow on the head.
Examples of glancing blow in a Sentence
Recent Examples on the Web
An incoming solar storm, also known as coronal mass ejection (CME), erupted from the sun on Jan. 21 and is currently on track to strike Earth with a glancing blow on Jan. 24-25.
—
Daisy Dobrijevic, Space.com, 23 Jan. 2025
A couple of weeks later, Hurricane Irma flattened parts of the Leeward Islands, in the Caribbean, while striking a glancing blow to Puerto Rico.
—Michael Oppenheimer, Foreign Affairs, 13 Oct. 2020
These systems also usually hit San Diego at an angle, amounting to little more than a glancing blow in many cases.
—Gary Robbins, San Diego Union-Tribune, 23 Jan. 2024
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Daisy Dobrijevic, Space.com, 23 Jan. 2025
A couple of weeks later, Hurricane Irma flattened parts of the Leeward Islands, in the Caribbean, while striking a glancing blow to Puerto Rico.
—Michael Oppenheimer, Foreign Affairs, 13 Oct. 2020
These systems also usually hit San Diego at an angle, amounting to little more than a glancing blow in many cases.
—Gary Robbins, San Diego Union-Tribune, 23 Jan. 2024
Dictionary Entries Near glancing blow
Cite this Entry
“Glancing blow.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/glancing%20blow. Accessed 9 Feb. 2025.
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