glitter
Americanverb (used without object)
-
glitters,
present (3rd person singular)
-
glittered,
past participle, past
-
glittering
present participle
-
to reflect light with a brilliant, sparkling luster; sparkle with reflected light.
-
to make a brilliant show.
noun
-
glitters
plural
-
a sparkling reflected light or luster.
- Synonyms:
- sparkle
-
showy splendor.
-
small glittering ornaments.
verb
-
(of a hard, wet, or polished surface) to reflect light in bright flashes
-
(of light) to be reflected in bright flashes
-
(usually foll by with) to be decorated or enhanced by the glamour (of)
the show glitters with famous actors
noun
-
sparkle or brilliance
-
show and glamour
-
tiny pieces of shiny decorative material used for ornamentation, as on the skin
-
Also called: silver thaw. ice formed from freezing rain
Synonym Usage
See flash.
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
-
glittersimple
-
glitterssimple
-
have glitteredperfect
-
has glitteredperfect
-
am glitteringprogressive
-
are glitteringprogressive
-
is glitteringprogressive
-
have been glitteringperfect progressive
-
has been glitteringperfect progressive
Past
-
glitteredsimple
-
had glitteredperfect
-
was glitteringprogressive
-
were glitteringprogressive
-
had been glitteringperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of glitter
First recorded in 1300–50; Middle English, from Old Norse glitra; compare Old English glitenian, German gleissen “to shine, glitter”
Explanation
A glitter is a sparkle or flash of light. To glitter is to gleam or shine, as if glistening with moisture. Glitter isn’t just shiny stuff you use in craft projects. When used as a noun, glitter can refer to any kind of gleam, glint, spark, or flash of light, like the flicker of a firefly at night. This word can also be used as a verb. An ornate golden goblet glitters brightly — as does anything coated in a thick layer of glitter.
Vocabulary lists containing glitter
"The Earth Under Sky Bear's Feet"
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Towers Falling
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Jess and Layla's Astronomical Assignment
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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:
Corsets, glitter, heavy eyeliner and dark tones mark a striking departure from the traditional image of an Irish folk musician, and it hasn't gone unnoticed.
From BBC ● May 16, 2026
Amazon is now awash with squishy products: There is a cheese squishy, glitter dumpling squishies and even a squishy that resembles a stick of butter.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Apr. 28, 2026
The names glitter like their price tags, Diego Maradona and Brazilian Ronaldo both there twice - being the world's most expensive footballer places you in an elite club where goals, glory and prestige are currency.
From BBC ● Apr. 21, 2026
Instead, eventgoers roamed a largely empty convention center with bare concrete walls void of pink and glitter.
From Los Angeles Times ● Apr. 1, 2026
Overhead, stars had spread into a fancy, motelike glitter.
From "The Fighting Ground" by Avi
Dahl’s wit may be mostly used for emotional vivisection, but it still glitters.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Mar. 24, 2026
All that glitters isn’t gold, but it’s easy to see why investors will continue to take a shine to it—and other metals—even after their historic run.
From Barron's ● Jan. 30, 2026
The glass panels gleam in the sun, like an outsize version of the prismatic bluish-purple gem that glitters in the light.
From BBC ● Oct. 23, 2024
But the New York attorney general indicated soon after that all that glitters is not gold.
From Salon ● Apr. 10, 2024
The moss under my scuffed boots glitters with dew, and there is a threadbare carpet of golden leaves beneath the sycamore tree.
From "How to Disappear Completely" by Ali Standish
They glittered in gold platform heels, black and tan powersuits, and fur-lined wool dresses for the winter chill lingering in Washington.
From Salon ● Mar. 19, 2026
They also didn’t reinvest farm income or Exxon’s dividends, and they picked another specific date when gold had glittered.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Feb. 27, 2026
But all that glittered was not gold, as a new podcast series reveals, and questions remain about the mysterious death of the company's chief geologist.
From BBC ● May 18, 2024
Ung’s crystal-embellished pants glittered as she moved across the makeshift dance floor; they were the same pants she’d worn the night of the shooting.
From Los Angeles Times ● Dec. 17, 2023
Maybe the sunbeams falling across Sitti’s bed intensified, and the small golden coffee pot glittered on its tray.
From "Habibi" by Naomi Shihab Nye
But first, there was “Revolver” — a glittering array of musical chestnuts that we’re only just beginning to appreciate.
From Salon ● Aug. 5, 2026
But I have somehow assembled enough glittering people and enough secondhand objects — a woven rug, cushions, low tables, an impossible number of candles — that it feels like a tiny seventh-floor pop-up restaurant.
From Salon ● Aug. 4, 2026
The glittering star of the gala was former New York Gov. Al Smith, who had thrown in his lot with the plutocrats after a distinguished career as an icon of progressive Democratic politics.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 29, 2026
Right-back Ramos won 28 major trophies during a glittering career spent mostly at Real Madrid, while left-back Capdevila was less heralded but has Euros and World Cup medals to show for his efforts.
From BBC ● Jul. 17, 2026
Later that evening six hundred guests gathered for a dinner gala at Vienna’s glittering Schönbrunn Palace.
From "Fallout: Spies, Superbombs, and the Ultimate Cold War Showdown" by Steve Sheinkin
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.
