glue

American  

[gloo] / glu /

noun

1. 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.

2. any of various solutions or preparations of this substance, used as an adhesive.

3. any of various other solutions or preparations that can be used as adhesives.

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verb (used with object)

glues, present (3rd person singular) glued, past participle, past gluing present participle

1. to join or fasten with glue.

   Synonyms:

   plaster, cement, stick, gum, paste

2. to cover or smear (something) with glue (sometimes followed byup ).

3. to fix or attach firmly with or as if with glue; make adhere closely.

   to glue a model ship together.

glue British  

/ ɡluː /

noun

1. any natural or synthetic adhesive, esp a sticky gelatinous substance prepared by boiling animal products such as bones, skin, and horns

2. any other sticky or adhesive substance

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verb

1. (tr) to join or stick together with or as if with glue

Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• gluer
  noun
• gluelike
  adjective
• gluey
  adjective

Inflected Forms

Participles

• gluing
  present
• glued
  past

Conjugated Forms

Present

• glue
  simple
• glues
  simple
• have glued
  perfect
• has glued
  perfect
• am gluing
  progressive
• are gluing
  progressive
• is gluing
  progressive
• have been gluing
  perfect progressive
• has been gluing
  perfect progressive

Past

• glued
  simple
• had glued
  perfect
• was gluing
  progressive
• were gluing
  progressive
• had been gluing
  perfect progressive

Future

• will glue
  simple
• will have glued
  perfect
• will be gluing
  progressive
• will have been gluing
  perfect progressive

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

Glue players aren’t the loudest voices, but they are often the reason the room works at all.

From The Wall Street Journal • Oct. 12, 2025

He was pitching Monday with a cut on his right thumb covered with cotton and Super Glue, what he termed Sunday as “a little arts and crafts in the training room.”

From Seattle Times • Oct. 31, 2023

“There’s no time to think - See bead! Grab bead! Glue bead!”

From Los Angeles Times • Oct. 16, 2023

Glue, not stitches, was used to close the wound.

From Washington Times • Jul. 28, 2023

Storytelling is the Krazy Glue that holds us all together.

From "Ugly" by Robert Hoge

Related Words

• cement
• paste
• plaster