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Synonyms

looking glass

American  

noun

  1. a mirror made of glass with a metallic or amalgam backing.

  2. the glass used in a mirror.

  3. anything used as a mirror, as highly polished metal or a reflecting surface.


looking glass British  

noun

  1. a mirror, esp a ladies' dressing mirror

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

adjective

  1. with normal or familiar circumstances reversed; topsy-turvy

    a looking-glass world

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Etymology

Origin of looking glass

First recorded in 1520–30

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.

In Lewis Carroll's "Through the Looking-Glass," Alice runs endlessly alongside the Red Queen but never moves ahead.

From Science Daily • Jan. 26, 2026

In this series finale, the final contestants complete short films based on the book “Through the Looking-Glass, and What Alice Found There.”

From New York Times • Aug. 7, 2018

For example, the names of the snooty talking flowers in Looking-Glass parody the then-popular 1855 poem 'Come into the garden, Maud', and the fashionable 'language of flowers' for lovers.

From Nature • Nov. 15, 2016

Blend of "chuckle" and "snort", created by Lewis Carroll in Through the Looking-Glass: "'O frabjous day! Callooh! Callay!' He chortled in his joy."

From The Guardian • Jun. 17, 2014

The Oxford Looking-Glass was shattered into many pieces.

From Sinister Street, vol. 2 by MacKenzie, Compton

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