a hard, brittle, noncrystalline, more or less transparent substance produced by fusion, usually consisting of mutually dissolved silica and silicates that also contain soda and lime, as in the ordinary variety used for windows and bottles.
any artificial or natural noncrystalline and transparent hard substance, such as fused borax, obsidian, or the like.
something made of a noncrystalline and transparent hard substance, such as a windowpane.
a tumbler or other comparatively tall, handleless drinking container.
the quantity contained within a tumbler or other tall, handleless drinking container; a glassful.
She poured two glasses of wine for herself and her guest.
Drink a glass of orange juice and you'll feel better.
a tumbler or other tall, handleless drinking container with its contents.
Hand me that glass of milk.
Also called eyeglasses. glasses, a device to compensate for impaired vision or to protect the eyes from light, dust, and the like, consisting usually of two glass or plastic lenses set in a frame that includes a nosepiece for resting on the bridge of the nose and two sidepieces extending over or around the ears (usually used withpair of ).
a mirror.
things made of glass, collectively; glassware.
They used to collect old glass.
a lens, especially one used as a magnifying glass.
a spyglass.
made of glass.
a glass tray.
furnished or fitted with panes of glass; glazed.
to fit with panes of glass.
cover with or encase in glass.
to coat or cover with fiberglass.
to glass the hull of a boat.
to scan with a spyglass or other optical instrument.
to reflect.
Trees glassed themselves in the lake.
Carter, 1858–1946, U.S. statesman.
Philip, born 1937, U.S. composer.
a hard brittle transparent or translucent noncrystalline solid, consisting of metal silicates or similar compounds. It is made from a fused mixture of oxides, such as lime, silicon dioxide, etc, and is used for making windows, mirrors, bottles, etc
( as modifier )
a glass bottle
any compound that has solidified from a molten state into a noncrystalline form
something made of glass, esp a drinking vessel, a barometer, or a mirror
Also called: glassful. the amount contained in a drinking glass
glassware collectively
See volcanic glass
See fibreglass
to cover with, enclose in, or fit with glass
informal to hit (someone) in the face with a glass or a bottle
Common sand and glass are both made primarily of silicon and oxygen, yet sand is opaque and glass is transparent. Glass owes its transparency partly to the fact that it is not a typical solid. On the molecular level, solids usually have a highly regular, three-dimensional crystalline structure; the regularities distributed throughout the solid act as mirrors that scatter incoming light. Glass, however, consists of molecules which, though relatively motionless like a typical solid, are not arranged in regular patterns and thus exhibit little scattering; light passes directly through. At a specific temperature, called the melting point, the intermolecular forces holding together the components of a typical solid can no longer maintain the regular structure, which then breaks down, and the material undergoes a phase transition from solid to liquid. The phase transition in glass, however, depends on how quickly the glass is heated (or how quickly it cools), due to its irregular solid structure.
First recorded before 900; Middle English noun glas, Old English glæs; cognate with Dutch, German Glas
Glass is the hard, transparent material that's used to make windows. While glass can be strong and sturdy, it's also brittle and can be broken easily by an errant baseball. Glass has all kinds of practical uses, from car windshields to greenhouse windows to jam jars to drinking glasses. When someone offers you a glass of water, they're referring to the vessel itself as a glass and also to amount it can hold — the glassful of liquid. The Old English source of glass is glæs, ultimately from a Proto-Indo-European root that means "to shine."
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Some participants were also asked to include one glass of fruit juice or a smoothie each day as they worked toward the 5-a-day target.
From Science Daily ● Aug. 10, 2026
While Smirnoff will continue to be sold in glass as well as plastic to target different consumers and occasions, O’Keeffe made clear the plastic version needs a complete visual refresh:
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 10, 2026
If you give a man a dragon, he’ll ask for a glass of ale to go with it.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 10, 2026
After Burton's fairy tale cup run finally ended, Clough said that Pep Guardiola invited him in for a glass of wine and quipped he hoped the Spaniard had "more than a glass."
From BBC ● Aug. 8, 2026
After he closed the door behind her, Ba leaned his forehead against the glass.
From "The Red Car to Hollywood" by Jennie Liu
It was the year Glass wrote “Einstein on the Beach” and Steve Reich created “Music for 18 Musicians” — the composers’ first masterpieces — demonstrating that Minimalism mattered.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 2, 2026
Google Glass, the first to step forward and one of the company’s slate of “moonshot” projects, came out in 2013.
From Salon ● Jul. 2, 2026
Glass is seen as the main sticking point because including it makes the scheme significantly more complex and expensive, requiring dedicated collection infrastructure and more costly reverse vending machines.
From BBC ● Jun. 29, 2026
And over a decade after the demise of the ill-fated Google Glass, Alphabet is trying its hand at smart glasses again with the May launch of its Intelligent Eyewear.
From MarketWatch ● Jun. 27, 2026
Mrs. Glass narrowed her eyes at it and picked at the tinsel with her fingers.
From "Franny and Zooey" by J. D. Salinger
Rossall Promenade, Cleveleys The Blackpool & District Astronomical Society is hosting a free public observing session from 17:00, with some eclipse glasses available.
From BBC ● Aug. 10, 2026
Legitimate pairs will have safety certification ISO 12312-2 or ISO 12312-2:2015 printed somewhere on the glasses, according the Royal Observatory Greenwich.
From BBC ● Aug. 10, 2026
Heaton Park, Manchester The Heaton Park Astronomy Group has announced a free watch-along event with special eclipse glasses available.
From BBC ● Aug. 10, 2026
Members of the Kintyre and Gigha Night Sky Group will answer questions and eclipse glasses will be available.
From BBC ● Aug. 10, 2026
The glasses and bottles rattle on their shelves when he slams his bedroom door.
From "The Bletchley Riddle" by Ruta Sepetys and Steve Sheinkin
Wearing a plain khaki T-shirt and round-rimmed glassed, Griner was ushered a courtroom by police at Khimki District Court outside Moscow, Griner held up personal photographs before taking a seat in the defendant's cage.
From Reuters ● Aug. 2, 2022
"They were nearly glassed over, but the sound is too important," the airline said in 2016.
From BBC ● Feb. 25, 2020
The CD isn’t glassed in, and spins freely.
From Slate ● Jun. 29, 2018
As soon as brown timber dust flies around a room it ceases to be a place in which surfboards can be shaped and glassed.
From The Guardian ● Mar. 17, 2017
When it was light enough to use the binoculars he glassed the valley below.
From "The Road" by Cormac McCarthy
Rubbert was by himself on the face of a cliff in Glacier glassing for grizzlies when a sow grizzly and her cub suddenly appeared.
From Washington Times ● Apr. 7, 2018
I did bricklaying, fibre glassing, I was a nanny, drove those rickshaw things, worked in a sandwich store – anything to get me from one place to the next.
From The Guardian ● Jun. 15, 2012
Andy Carroll is £3,500 lighter in the pocket after pleading guilty to accidentally glassing Michael Cook in a trendy Newcastle nightspot.
From The Guardian ● Oct. 25, 2010
Dad and I sat on a couple of logs, glassing occassionally, as William called with both his mouth and the coffee can contraption.
From Time Magazine Archive
He looked at Jam, his eyes glassing over with tears.
From "Pet" by Akwaeke Emezi
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.
