Glaze
/ɡleɪz/
Definitions
3 meaningsA thin, often glossy, coating applied to a surface, usually for protection or decoration.
/ɡleɪz/
A thin, glassy coating applied to a surface.
The ceramic artist experimented with different glaze colors.
💡 Simply: Imagine you're making a donut, and you put a sugary, shiny coating on top. That coating is a glaze! It makes the donut look pretty and taste even better. Glaze can also be a shiny coating on pottery or food.
👶 For kids: A shiny coating, like the one on a donut!
More Examples
The pastry chef prepared a rich chocolate glaze for the cupcakes.
The sunlight created a shimmering glaze on the water.
How It's Used
"The chef brushed a honey glaze onto the ham before baking it."
"The potter applied a vibrant blue glaze to the vase."
"The artist created a depth effect by layering glazes of paint."
To cover something with a glaze.
/ɡleɪz/
To apply a glaze to something.
The chef glazed the ham with a mixture of brown sugar and mustard.
💡 Simply: Think of frosting a cake! To glaze something means to put a shiny, sometimes sweet, coating on it. Like when you glaze a ham or a donut.
👶 For kids: To put a shiny coat on something, like putting frosting on a cake!
More Examples
The potter began to glaze his new creation, a majestic vase.
She glazed the pastries to make them look even more tempting.
How It's Used
"She glazed the carrots with honey and butter."
"He glazed the pottery in the kiln."
"The artist glazed the painting with a thin layer of varnish to give a luminous effect."
To become covered with a glassy or shiny appearance, or to cause eyes to lose focus.
/ɡleɪz/
To become covered with a glassy or shiny appearance.
The icy rain caused the roads to glaze over.
💡 Simply: Sometimes things get a shiny, glassy layer on them, like when ice forms on a road. Also, your eyes might 'glaze over' when you're really tired or bored and your focus disappears.
👶 For kids: When something gets a shiny layer, or when your eyes get unfocused.
More Examples
Her eyes glazed over during the lengthy lecture.
The window pane glazed with frost.
How It's Used
"His eyes glazed over as he listened to the long speech."
"The roads glazed over with ice in the winter."
Synonyms
Idioms & expressions
Eyes glaze over
To become bored or lose interest and focus; to lose focus.
"The professor's droning lecture made the students' eyes glaze over."
From Middle English glasen, from Old English glæsian ('to glaze, cover with glass'), from glæs ('glass').
The word 'glaze' has been used since the Middle Ages, initially referring to the glassy coating on pottery and windows.
Memory tip
Think of the shiny coating on a donut – that's a glaze!