1. To look downward at someone or something positioned physically below one. I clung to the rope after I made the mistake of glancing down at the pit below. I glanced down at my test sheet and realized that I'd forgotten to write my name on it.

2. To look downward out of shyness, embarrassment, or shame. The little girl glanced down and grabbed her mom's hand when I tried to talk to her. I glanced down when Mom told me how disappointed she was in my grades.