glove
Americannoun
-
gloves
plural
-
a covering for the hand made with a separate sheath for each finger and for the thumb.
verb (used with object)
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gloves,
present (3rd person singular)
-
gloved,
past participle, past
-
gloving
present participle
-
to cover with or as if with a glove; provide with gloves.
-
to serve as a glove for.
idioms
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throw down the glove. gauntlet.
-
handle with kid gloves. kid gloves.
-
hand and glove. hand.
-
take up the glove. gauntlet.
noun
-
(often plural) a shaped covering for the hand with individual sheaths for the fingers and thumb, made of leather, fabric, etc See also gauntlet 1
-
any of various large protective hand covers worn in sports, such as a boxing glove
-
informal in an intimate relationship or close association
-
informal to treat with extreme care
-
informal (of a dispute, argument, etc) conducted mercilessly and in earnest, with no reservations
verb
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
-
glovesimple
-
glovessimple
-
have glovedperfect
-
has glovedperfect
-
am glovingprogressive
-
are glovingprogressive
-
is glovingprogressive
-
have been glovingperfect progressive
-
has been glovingperfect progressive
Past
-
glovedsimple
-
had glovedperfect
-
was glovingprogressive
-
were glovingprogressive
-
had been glovingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of glove
before 900; Middle English; Old English glōf; cognate with Old Norse glōfi
Explanation
A glove is a piece of clothing that you wear on your hand, to protect it or keep it warm. Most people wear a pair of gloves, unless — of course — they are imitating Michael Jackson. Cold-weather gloves are soft and warm, made from fabrics like wool, polar fleece, or leather. There are also gloves that protect the skin on your hands while you're cleaning, using chemicals, or washing dishes; and gloves that prevent the spreading of germs, worn by food handlers and health care workers. Athletes sometimes wear gloves as well, like boxing gloves or the gloves worn by hockey goalies.
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:
But it already had been snuffed out by the time the final out landed in Brewers left fielder Jackson Chourio’s glove.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 16, 2026
Paxton’s own conduct fits that structure like a glove.
From Salon ● Oct. 15, 2026
A Rawlings “Heart of the Hide” custom youth glove runs $400, while its sister brand, Easton, sells “The DUB” bat for $500.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 4, 2026
Yes, it flew in on the goalkeeper's side of the wall and he didn't lay a glove on it.
From BBC ● Sep. 29, 2026
She slammed the glove box shut and climbed out of the car.
From "Sir Fig Newton and the Science of Persistence" by Sonja Thomas
The crowd was awash in lace, ruffles, veils, elbow-length gloves and far more all-white than is typically seen after Labor Day.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 19, 2026
At the new Shanghai store Super Zhuanzhuan, shoppers have to wear black gloves to avoid their greasy fingers touching the products.
From Barron's ● Oct. 18, 2026
Boys have their own $75 batting helmets, $105 batting gloves, $85 sliding mitts and $600 catcher’s gear.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 4, 2026
She saw the child, who was fully dressed with gloves on, and thought it was a doll.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 1, 2026
Imagine reaching for your gloves and getting a handful of Lamont.
From "Secrets at Sea" by Richard Peck
Roebuck immediately recognized the long gun in the man’s gloved hands.
From Slate ● Sep. 17, 2026
A gloved hand comes out of the picture to grab them.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 26, 2026
During a stop at the Arizona-Sonora Desert Museum, an owl perched on her gloved arm made her squeal like the girl she had been during her first visit there on a grade-school field trip.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 2, 2026
Nancy Guthrie, 84, disappeared on the night of January 31-February 1, with recovered security camera footage showing a masked and gloved person prowling outside her home in the outskirts of Tucson, Arizona.
From Barron's ● Aug. 1, 2026
But she pushed it back to me and waved her long, gloved fingers toward the trees.
From "The Detective's Assistant" by Kate Hannigan
Pope, standing baseball style, miscued Cameron Green on 42 and Root only survived gloving behind in the same over because Green overstepped.
From BBC ● Jun. 29, 2023
But Jesse Winker took a circuitous route to gloving it and Rengifo recognized it, hustling to second for a double.
From Seattle Times ● Aug. 5, 2022
In public, we now cover and constrain ourselves as never before, masking our faces, gloving our hands.
From New York Times ● Dec. 22, 2020
He wasn’t far from gloving a ball that snuck through the gate, either - an enduring issue for England’s No3.
From The Guardian ● Jul. 11, 2020
They could not but smile, but waited for the king, who, when he had had his laugh out, explained the allusion to the Conqueror’s leather dressing and gloving lineage.
From Hugh, Bishop of Lincoln A Short Story of One of the Makers of Mediaeval England by Charles L. (Charles Latimer) Marson
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Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
