glow
Americannoun
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glows
plural
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a light emitted by or as if by a substance heated to luminosity; incandescence.
-
brightness of color.
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a sensation or state of bodily heat.
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a warm, ruddy color of the cheeks.
-
warmth of emotion or passion; ardor.
verb (used without object)
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glows,
present (3rd person singular)
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glowed,
past participle, past
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glowing
present participle
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to emit bright light and heat without flame; become incandescent.
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to shine like something intensely heated.
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to exhibit a strong, bright color; be lustrously red or brilliant.
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(of the cheeks) to exhibit a healthy, warm, ruddy color.
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to become or feel very warm or hot.
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to show emotion or elation.
to glow with pride.
noun
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light emitted by a substance or object at a high temperature
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a steady even light without flames
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brilliance or vividness of colour
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brightness or ruddiness of complexion
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a feeling of wellbeing or satisfaction
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intensity of emotion; ardour
verb
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to emit a steady even light without flames
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to shine intensely, as if from great heat
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to be exuberant or high-spirited, as from excellent health or intense emotion
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to experience a feeling of wellbeing or satisfaction
to glow with pride
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(esp of the complexion) to show a strong bright colour, esp a shade of red
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to be very hot
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
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glowsimple
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glowssimple
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have glowedperfect
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has glowedperfect
-
am glowingprogressive
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are glowingprogressive
-
is glowingprogressive
-
have been glowingperfect progressive
-
has been glowingperfect progressive
Past
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glowedsimple
-
had glowedperfect
-
was glowingprogressive
-
were glowingprogressive
-
had been glowingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of glow
First recorded before 1000; Middle English glowen (verb), Old English glōwan; akin to German glühen, Old Norse glōa
Explanation
To glow is to shine with light. On a clear night when the moon is full, it glows in the sky. A nightlight glows in a dark room, and a distant flashlight beam glows like a candle. Other things that glow include fireflies, TV screens, and city lights when seen from an airplane at night. A person's face can also be said to glow, when it's shining and flushed with health or happiness. The radiance of light or pleasure itself can also be called a glow, from the Old English glowan, "to shine as if red-hot."
Vocabulary lists containing glow
All Aglow: Light Lingo
Looking to grow your vocabulary? Check out this interactive, curated word list from our team of English language specialists at Vocabulary.com – one of over 17,000 lists we've built to help learners worldwide!
Talk Like Shakespeare Day, List 5
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This Week In Words: Current Events Vocab for March 6–12, 2021
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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:
It wasn’t all that long ago that restaurants and bars around the country were dappled in the glow of cigarettes.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 13, 2026
Trace that hazy glow toward its densest region, and you will be looking in the direction of the center of the Milky Way galaxy.
From Science Daily ● Sep. 3, 2026
Torosis attributed the change of heart to a younger, majority-millennial City Council that grew up in the cultural glow of festivals like Coachella.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 2, 2026
He also created recurring characters like “Mr. Glow, the inventor of glow sticks.”
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 2, 2026
Faintly, in the distance, I saw a golden glow.
From "Black Star, Bright Dawn" by Scott O'Dell
A video published by BBC Persian from Karaj shows booms upon the horizon, as the night sky lights up with blue and red glows.
From BBC ● Mar. 10, 2026
On my final morning Puistokahvila Makia glows gold against a blue commute.
From Salon ● Mar. 8, 2026
Dana relays that if there’s a part of Ilana’s skin that glows, she’ll swab it with a wet, then dry, cotton swab.
From Los Angeles Times ● Feb. 19, 2026
What remains can now only be detected in mid-infrared light, where it glows at roughly one-tenth of its original intensity.
From Science Daily ● Feb. 14, 2026
He presses a button on its handle, and the Cog glows purple.
From "The Last Cuentista" by Donna Barba Higuera
Each person had just been arrested in Wake County, N.C., and now their mug shots glowed on a computer screen in grids of eight.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 2, 2026
Arcaded buildings glowed as friends gathered over shisha, families strolled with children and couples lingered over coffee.
From Barron's ● Apr. 28, 2026
Like the store’s sign, the sky glowed Big Orange, hex code #F96302, or Pantone 165 C, available in the paint department inside.
From Slate ● Jan. 27, 2026
The dining room glowed like a film set, its gently arched brick and brass softening Barcelona’s usual edge.
From Salon ● Dec. 6, 2025
Whatever was pouring out of the Mirror looked like some kind of bright, greenish-yellow smoke, though Jack hadn’t ever seen smoke that glowed.
From "Half Upon a Time" by James Riley
The vibe in the giant arena, absent of the typical sea of glowing rectangles, was almost intimate.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 18, 2026
Of course the playwright has prepared the way, but the wayward emotions emanating from these inwardly glowing performances are refreshing in work that has the crisp, circumscribed elegance of a mathematical proof.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 16, 2026
Bright reddish-orange patches near the base resemble glowing eyes, adding to its demon-like appearance.
From Science Daily ● Sep. 4, 2026
The dramedy premiered earlier this year on sister service MGM+, to largely glowing reviews, and now gets a chance at reaching a much wider audience.
From MarketWatch ● Aug. 31, 2026
For as soon as she’d named the four realms, the glowing lights sprang to life.
From "The Undead Fox of Deadwood Forest" by Aubrey Hartman
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.
