stained glass

American  

noun

1. glass that has been colored, enameled, painted, or stained, especially by having pigments baked onto its surface or by having various metallic oxides fused into it, as used in church windows, decorative lampshades, etc.

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stained glass British  

noun

1. 1. glass that has been coloured in any of various ways, as by fusing with a film of metallic oxide or burning pigment into the surface, used esp for church windows

   2. ( as modifier )

      a stained-glass window

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Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• stained-glass
  adjective

Etymology

Origin of stained glass

First recorded in 1785–95

Example Sentences

Their wings deserve a close inspection, as the translucent curved fixtures are inspired by stained glass windows.

From Los Angeles Times • May 20, 2026

"It feels like somewhere we're not supposed to be," Libby adds, looking around at the statues and stained glass.

From BBC • Dec. 29, 2025

A golden shaft of light may stream through the stained glass windows; seconds later, an unseen cloud passes by, casting a chill across the bricks.

From Los Angeles Times • Nov. 25, 2025

“One must go to stained glass for such color resonance.”

From The Wall Street Journal • Nov. 21, 2025

The place seemed to be a geometrically reconfigured 1960s bachelor pad, with open stonework, pile carpeting, and magnificently ugly mushroom-shaped stained glass lampshades.

From "American Gods" by Neil Gaiman