glove
Americannoun
-
gloves
plural
-
a covering for the hand made with a separate sheath for each finger and for the thumb.
verb (used with object)
-
gloves,
present (3rd person singular)
-
gloved,
past participle, past
-
gloving
present participle
-
to cover with or as if with a glove; provide with gloves.
-
to serve as a glove for.
idioms
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throw down the glove. gauntlet.
-
handle with kid gloves. kid gloves.
-
hand and glove. hand.
-
take up the glove. gauntlet.
noun
-
(often plural) a shaped covering for the hand with individual sheaths for the fingers and thumb, made of leather, fabric, etc See also gauntlet 1
-
any of various large protective hand covers worn in sports, such as a boxing glove
-
informal in an intimate relationship or close association
-
informal to treat with extreme care
-
informal (of a dispute, argument, etc) conducted mercilessly and in earnest, with no reservations
verb
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
-
glovesimple
-
glovessimple
-
have glovedperfect
-
has glovedperfect
-
am glovingprogressive
-
are glovingprogressive
-
is glovingprogressive
-
have been glovingperfect progressive
-
has been glovingperfect progressive
Past
-
glovedsimple
-
had glovedperfect
-
was glovingprogressive
-
were glovingprogressive
-
had been glovingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of glove
before 900; Middle English; Old English glōf; cognate with Old Norse glōfi
Explanation
A glove is a piece of clothing that you wear on your hand, to protect it or keep it warm. Most people wear a pair of gloves, unless — of course — they are imitating Michael Jackson. Cold-weather gloves are soft and warm, made from fabrics like wool, polar fleece, or leather. There are also gloves that protect the skin on your hands while you're cleaning, using chemicals, or washing dishes; and gloves that prevent the spreading of germs, worn by food handlers and health care workers. Athletes sometimes wear gloves as well, like boxing gloves or the gloves worn by hockey goalies.
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
See Examples For:
He told jurors he ran after the boy for about 25 seconds and continued to shout "stop" and saw that a black glove had been dropped.
From BBC ● Oct. 12, 2026
It flew high and outside, off the end of catcher Will Smith’s glove and to the edge of the grass behind home plate.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 5, 2026
A Rawlings “Heart of the Hide” custom youth glove runs $400, while its sister brand, Easton, sells “The DUB” bat for $500.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 4, 2026
Skubal strutted off the mound, hit the palm of his glove twice, and slapped hands with catcher Will Smith.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 3, 2026
I pound my glove and stare at the ball in Brayden’s hand.
From "A High Five for Glenn Burke" by Phil Bildner
“Some of the officers have also reported ‘feeling burned’ after touching their skin with the same gloves that were used to handle the chemical.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 8, 2026
Youth bats go for $500 and gloves for $400.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 4, 2026
She saw the child, who was fully dressed with gloves on, and thought it was a doll.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 1, 2026
"Holding somebody's hand with gloves is not good," she said.
From BBC ● Sep. 30, 2026
I put on my heavy parka and my mittens, which were warmer than my gloves.
From "Black Star, Bright Dawn" by Scott O'Dell
Roebuck immediately recognized the long gun in the man’s gloved hands.
From Slate ● Sep. 17, 2026
Nancy Guthrie, 84, disappeared on the night of January 31-February 1, with recovered security camera footage showing a masked and gloved person prowling outside her home in the outskirts of Tucson, Arizona.
From Barron's ● Aug. 1, 2026
Anderson flayed a boundary to make it two to win but then gloved a Neil Wagner short ball down leg.
From BBC ● Jul. 12, 2026
Again, it mattered little with the U.S. getting that goal back three minutes later with Tillman bending a free kick from the top of the box off Vasilj’s gloved right hand and into the net.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 2, 2026
I use my rock hammer to chisel around its edges, then pry it up and brush away the surrounding dirt with my gloved hand.
From "The Last Cuentista" by Donna Barba Higuera
Pope, standing baseball style, miscued Cameron Green on 42 and Root only survived gloving behind in the same over because Green overstepped.
From BBC ● Jun. 29, 2023
But Jesse Winker took a circuitous route to gloving it and Rengifo recognized it, hustling to second for a double.
From Seattle Times ● Aug. 5, 2022
The Santa Margarita shortstop couldn’t have played it any better, gloving the ball and firing it to first.
From Los Angeles Times ● May 1, 2022
In public, we now cover and constrain ourselves as never before, masking our faces, gloving our hands.
From New York Times ● Dec. 22, 2020
Mr. Simlins watched the shawling and gloving with attention.
From Say and Seal, Volume II by Susan Warner
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
