What does "glut" mean?
An excess, too much.
Glut
/ɡlʌt/ noun, verb
noun, verb ·Common ·High school level
Meaning at a glance
- Primary sense: An excess, too much.
- Grammar: glut is listed as noun, verb.
- Nearest alternatives: surfeit, abundance, abundance, allay.
- Useful contrasts: conserve, curate, deplete.
- Usage evidence: There was a glut of cotton goods due to cheap imports.
How to use "glut"
- Start with the primary definition, then check the part of speech before placing the word in a sentence.
- Compare nearby synonyms to make sure "glut" 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 "glut" 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 "glut" as the right word for your sentence.
If your draft is formal, technical, persuasive, or sensitive, compare "glut" 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 "glut" is acting as noun, verb 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 "surfeit" 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 "glut", 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 excess, too much.
"a glut of the market"
- 2 the quality of being so overabundant that prices fall wordnet
- 3 That which is swallowed.
"And all their entrails tore, disgorging foul / Their devilish glut, […]"
- 4 Something that fills up an opening.
- 5 A wooden wedge used in splitting blocks.
"The white oak is laid on the ground, then rived down the middle using first an axe to create the split in the end grain, then a maul to hammer "gluts" — iron or wooden wedges — down the log's length to split it apart."
Show 6 more definitions
- 6 A piece of wood used to fill up behind cribbing or tubbing.
- 7 A bat, or small piece of brick, used to fill out a course.
- 8 An arched opening to the ashpit of a kiln.
- 9 A block used for a fulcrum.
- 10 The broad-nosed eel (Anguilla anguilla, syn. Anguilla latirostris), found in Europe, Asia, the West Indies, etc.
- 11 Five goals scored by one player in a game. British
"Four goals scored by a single player in a match can be described as a 'haul', while five goals is unofficially a 'glut'."
Verb
- 1 To fill to capacity; to satisfy all demand or requirement; to sate. transitive
"to glut one's appetite"
- 2 overeat or eat immodestly; make a pig of oneself wordnet
- 3 To provide (a market) with so much of a product that the supply greatly exceeds the demand. transitive
- 4 supply with an excess of wordnet
- 5 To eat gluttonously or to satiety. intransitive
"And then we stroll'd / From room to room: in each we sat, we heard / The grave Professor. [...] / Till like three horses that have broken fence, / And glutted all night long breast-deep in corn, / We issued gorged with knowledge, [...]"
Example
"There was a glut of cotton goods due to cheap imports."
Common questions
What is a synonym for "glut"?
Common synonyms include: surfeit, abundance, abundance, allay, barnful, barrelful.
How do you use "glut" in a sentence?
There was a glut of cotton goods due to cheap imports.
How do you pronounce "glut"?
Pronounced /ɡlʌt/.
Etymology
Inherited from Middle English glotien /glotten, probably derived from Old French gloter /glotir /glotoiier (“to eat greedily”) [compare French engloutir (“to devour”), French glouton (“glutton”)], derived from Latin gluttiō, gluttīre (“to swallow”). Compare Russian глота́ть (glotátʹ, “to swallow”).