glue
Americannoun
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a hard, impure, protein gelatin, obtained by boiling skins, hoofs, and other animal substances in water, that when melted or diluted is a strong adhesive.
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any of various solutions or preparations of this substance, used as an adhesive.
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any of various other solutions or preparations that can be used as adhesives.
verb (used with object)
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glues,
present (3rd person singular)
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glued,
past participle, past
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gluing
present participle
noun
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any natural or synthetic adhesive, esp a sticky gelatinous substance prepared by boiling animal products such as bones, skin, and horns
-
any other sticky or adhesive substance
verb
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
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gluesimple
-
gluessimple
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have gluedperfect
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has gluedperfect
-
am gluingprogressive
-
are gluingprogressive
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is gluingprogressive
-
have been gluingperfect progressive
-
has been gluingperfect progressive
Past
-
gluedsimple
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had gluedperfect
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was gluingprogressive
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were gluingprogressive
-
had been gluingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of glue
1300–50; (noun) Middle English glu, gleu < Old French glu < Latin glūt- (stem of glūs ); cognate with Greek gloiós gum, anything sticky; (v.) Middle English glywen, glewen, derivative of the noun
Explanation
Glue is a liquid adhesive, used to stick two items together. A little kid may use Elmer's glue to decorate an art project, and you may use Krazy Glue to repair a mug's broken handle. Whatever the case, you hope the glue sticks. Most glue comes in a squeeze bottle and is used in small drips and lines to paste one material to another, but some glue comes in solid sticks that aren't as messy. When you stick one thing to another with glue, you glue it. The Old French source of glue is glu, from the Latin gluten, which means both "glue" and "beeswax."
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:
The results suggest that gluons, the particles that act as the glue holding quarks together, may play a key role in carrying and conserving baryon number.
From Science Daily ● Aug. 16, 2026
Cholesterol helps cells remain attached to one another, functioning like a form of biological glue.
From Science Daily ● Aug. 4, 2026
The company behind Sharpie markers and Elmer’s glue said Friday it now expects full-year normalized earnings per share to be 73 cents to 77 cents, up from 56 cents to 60 cents previously.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 31, 2026
But there's also a bigger problem at play than a little glue.
From BBC ● Jul. 27, 2026
But as he had no cooking-skin for making glue, he let Wolf have the hooves straightaway.
From "Wolf Brother" by Michelle Paver
Nvidia glues everything together with software called CUDA, short for “compute unified device architecture.”
From Barron's ● May 29, 2026
When counterfeiters make fake versions—phony name-brand sneakers, for instance—they don’t use the same materials, glues, dyes and paints that the legitimate manufacturer does.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Mar. 17, 2026
"These often have added chemicals, flavourings, stabilisers and glues, are often lacking many real nutrients and could have a detrimental effect on someone's health," she said.
From BBC ● Feb. 23, 2026
But despite its water-sensitive glues and exposed hydraulics, the seahorse completed its route intact.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jan. 3, 2026
Meanwhile, the Doctorita glues pictures of Bugs Bunny and Mickey Mouse onto the wood.
From "The Queen of Water" by Laura Resau
It has nothing to do with efficiency, and actually, for something with a reputation so closely glued to antiestablishment aesthetics and fashions of the counterculture, is quite frivolous if you think about it.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 12, 2026
The cut-outs themselves evolved over time, taking on various compositional and even accidental patterns on Matisse’s studio walls, before being glued by assistants onto a final surface.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 6, 2026
Perched in front of her computer, eyes glued to her fateful queue number, Vevee waited for hours.
From BBC ● Jun. 21, 2026
On a reconnaissance mission, Jessie climbs to the roof and discovers the root of this strange standoffishness: Every child, in every window, has their face glued to a screen.
From Salon ● Jun. 21, 2026
Gum Baby’s back was stuck to my wrist as if it were glued there as we continued to tumble down the fiery tunnel.
From "Tristan Strong Punches a Hole in the Sky" by Kwame Mbalia
If using a homemade winder,*** consider gluing or taping the string to the winder so that your string stays connected if you happen to use all of your string to fly the kite.
From Los Angeles Times ● May 3, 2026
"The spermine is like cheese that connects the long, thin noodles without gluing them together, making them easier to digest."
From Science Daily ● Nov. 27, 2025
New offences were created including interfering with national infrastructure, "locking on" – chaining or gluing yourself to something – and tunnelling underground.
From BBC ● Mar. 28, 2025
Other recent protests have involved activists blocking highway traffic in various parts of Italy, and gluing hands of activists to the protective glass of a Botticelli painting in the Uffizi Gallery.
From Washington Times ● Dec. 7, 2023
The lady who thinks it's so terrible to waste learning time cutting and gluing paper.
From "Linked" by Gordon Korman
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.
