What does "glass" mean?
An amorphous solid, often transparent substance, usually made by melting silica sand with various additives (for most purposes, a mixture of soda, potash and lime is added).
Glass
/ɡlɑːs/ name, noun, verb, slang
name, noun, verb, slang ·Very common ·Middle school level
Meaning at a glance
- Primary sense: An amorphous solid, often transparent substance, usually made by melting silica sand with various additives (for most purposes, a mixture of soda, potash and lime is added).
- Grammar: glass is listed as name, noun, verb, slang.
- Nearest alternatives: drinking glass, achromatic lens, adobe, aerological instrument.
- Useful contrasts: portuguese plástico, chrystal, dull.
- Usage evidence: Those who live in glass houses should not throw stones.
How to use "glass"
- Start with the primary definition, then check the part of speech before placing the word in a sentence.
- Compare nearby synonyms to make sure "glass" carries the exact meaning, tone, and strength you need.
- Use the example sentence as a context check. If your sentence uses the word differently, confirm that the grammar still fits.
Meaning check
- Does the word fit the sentence's grammar?
- Does it match the intended tone rather than only the dictionary definition?
- Would a simpler synonym be clearer for the reader?
- Is there enough surrounding context to prevent ambiguity?
Source and review context
This entry combines structured lexical data with WordToolSet review checks. Definitions, examples, synonyms, and usage notes may come from different source tables, so the page is designed to show evidence from more than one angle before you rely on "glass" in a final draft.
If a word has several senses, prefer the sense that matches your sentence's grammar and surrounding context. A correct definition can still be the wrong choice when the sentence needs a different register, emphasis, or level of specificity.
Before you rely on this definition
Read the first definition as a starting point, then check the example, synonyms, and part of speech before treating "glass" as the right word for your sentence.
If your draft is formal, technical, persuasive, or sensitive, compare "glass" with a nearby alternative so the final choice matches both meaning and reader expectation.
Compare nearby meanings
- Use synonyms when you need a softer, stronger, simpler, or more specific word.
- Use antonyms to check the boundary of the meaning and avoid accidental contrast.
- Use the example sentence to confirm the word behaves naturally in context.
- Keep the original wording when a replacement adds complexity without improving precision.
Definition decision workflow
1. Identify the role
Check whether "glass" is acting as name, noun, verb, slang in your sentence. A definition is only useful when the grammar matches the way the word is being used.
2. Test the nearest option
Compare it with "drinking glass" and other nearby choices to see whether the sentence needs a softer, stronger, or more familiar word.
3. Confirm with context
Use the example sentence below as an evidence check, then read your own sentence out loud to catch tone or rhythm problems.
Review note: Definition pages are checked for source coverage, sentence evidence, synonym support, and editorial insight before they are treated as approval-ready pages. If the evidence is too thin, the page remains available to users but is kept out of the approval-facing indexed inventory.
Final meaning check
Before publishing a sentence with "glass", ask whether the word helps the reader understand the idea faster. A precise word should reduce confusion, not simply make the sentence look more polished.
When the definition, synonym evidence, and example context point in the same direction, the word is usually a safer choice. When they conflict, revise the sentence or choose a clearer alternative.
Definitions
Noun
- 1 An amorphous solid, often transparent substance, usually made by melting silica sand with various additives (for most purposes, a mixture of soda, potash and lime is added). uncountable, usually
"The tabletop is made of glass."
- 2 a small refracting telescope wordnet
- 3 Any amorphous solid (one without a regular crystal lattice). broadly, countable, uncountable
"Metal glasses, unlike those based on silica, are electrically conductive, which can be either an advantage or a disadvantage, depending on the application."
- 4 a container made of glass for holding liquids while drinking wordnet
- 5 A vessel from which one drinks, especially one made of glass, plastic, or similar translucent or semi-translucent material. countable
"Would you like a glass of wine?"
Show 17 more definitions
- 6 glassware collectively wordnet
- 7 The quantity of liquid contained in such a vessel. countable, metonymically, uncountable
"There is half a glass of milk in each pound of chocolate we produce."
- 8 a mirror; usually a ladies' dressing mirror wordnet
- 9 Glassware. uncountable
"We collected art glass."
- 10 an amphetamine derivative (trade name Methedrine) used in the form of a crystalline hydrochloride; used as a stimulant to the nervous system and as an appetite suppressant wordnet
- 11 A mirror. countable, uncountable
"She adjusted her lipstick in the glass."
- 12 the quantity a glass will hold wordnet
- 13 A magnifying glass or loupe. countable, uncountable
- 14 a brittle transparent solid with irregular atomic structure wordnet
- 15 A telescope. countable, uncountable
"Haviers, or stags which have been gelded when young, have no horns, as is well known, and in the early part of the stalking season, when seen through a glass, might be mistaken for hummels […]"
- 16 A barrier made of solid, transparent material.; The backboard. colloquial, countable, uncountable
"He caught the rebound off the glass."
- 17 A barrier made of solid, transparent material.; The clear, protective screen surrounding a hockey rink. countable, uncountable
"He fired the outlet pass off the glass."
- 18 A barometer. countable, uncountable
"The glass is falling hour by hour, the glass will fall for ever / But if you break the bloody glass you won’t hold up the weather."
- 19 Transparent or translucent. attributive, countable, uncountable
"glass frog; glass shrimp; glass worm"
- 20 An hourglass. countable, obsolete, uncountable
"Were my Wiues Liuer / Infected (as her life) ſhe would not liue / The running of one Glaſſe."
- 21 Lenses, considered collectively. informal, uncountable
"Her new camera was incompatible with her old one, so she needed to buy new glass."
- 22 Synonym of window or pane, particularly in vehicles. archaic, countable
"[N]o sooner had we entered Holbourn than letting down one of the Front Glasses I enquired of every decent-looking Person that we passed ‘If they had seen my Edward?’"
Verb
- 1 To fit with glass; to glaze. transitive
- 2 become glassy or take on a glass-like appearance wordnet
- 3 To enclose in glass. transitive
"As Iewels in Christall for some Prince to buy. / Who tendring their own worth from whence they were glast,"
- 4 put in a glass container wordnet
- 5 Clipping of fibreglass (“to fit, cover, fill, or build, with fibreglass-reinforced resin composite (fiberglass)”). abbreviation, alt-of, clipping, transitive
Show 10 more definitions
- 6 enclose with glass wordnet
- 7 To strike (someone), particularly in the face, with a drinking glass with the intent of causing injury. UK, colloquial, transitive
"JUDD. Any trouble last night? LES. Usual. Couple of punks got glassed."
- 8 scan (game in the forest) with binoculars wordnet
- 9 To bombard an area with such intensity (by means of a nuclear bomb, fusion bomb, etc) as to melt the landscape into glass. transitive
"“The Covenant don’t ‘miss’ anything when they glass a planet,” the Master Chief replied."
- 10 furnish with glass wordnet
- 11 To view through an optical instrument such as binoculars. transitive
"Andy took his binoculars and glassed the area below."
- 12 To smooth or polish (leather, etc.), by rubbing it with a glass burnisher. transitive
- 13 To reflect; to mirror. archaic, reflexive
"Happy to glass themselves in so brilliant a mirror."
- 14 To make glassy. transitive
"Not only were his eyes averted from mine, but they were glassed to an uncanny degree."
- 15 To become glassy. intransitive
"Bourez had timed it perfectly: a wind that was forecast for the morning began to stir just after his arrival and the sea glassed off for a brief period before the waves grew bigger and bigger."
Proper Noun
- 1 A surname.
- 2 A solution stack consisting of the GemStone database and application server, Linux operating system, Apache web server, Smalltalk programming language, and Seaside web framework.
Synonyms
All synonymsExample
"Those who live in glass houses should not throw stones."
Common questions
What is a synonym for "glass"?
Common synonyms include: drinking glass, achromatic lens, adobe, aerological instrument, agate glass, alabaster.
How do you use "glass" in a sentence?
Those who live in glass houses should not throw stones.
How do you pronounce "glass"?
Pronounced /ɡlɑːs/.
Etymology
Etymology 1
From Middle English glas, from Old English glæs, from Proto-West Germanic *glas, from Proto-Germanic *glasą, possibly related to Proto-Germanic *glōaną (“to shine”) (compare glow), and ultimately from the Proto-Indo-European root *ǵʰleh₁- (“to shine, shimmer, glow”). Cognate with West Frisian glês, Dutch glas, Low German Glas, German Glas, Swedish glas, Icelandic gler.
Etymology 2
* As an English, Jewish and German surname, from the noun glass. * Also as an English surname, from a nickname derived from French glas (“bell, tumult, clash of arms”). * As a Celtic surname (Irish, Welsh, Cornish, and Scottish Gaelic), Anglicized from the adjective glas (“grey”). * Also as a German surname, altered from the personal name Klass, shortened from Nikolaus, compare Nicholas. * As a Slovene surname, Americanized and Germanized from Glas.