2 N‑PLURAL A person's glories are the occasions when they have done something people greatly admire which makes them famous. □ The album sees them re-living past glories but not really breaking any new ground.
3 N‑UNCOUNT [with poss] The glory of something is its great beauty or impressive nature. □ [+ of ] The glory of the idea blossomed in his mind.
4 N‑COUNT [usu pl] The glories of a culture or place are the things that people admire most about it. □ [+ of ] …a tour of Florence, to enjoy the artistic glories of the Italian Renaissance.
5 VERB If you glory in a situation or activity, you enjoy it very much. □ [V + in ] The workers were glorying in their new-found freedom.
6 PHRASE If you go out in a blaze of glory , you do something very dramatic at the end of your career or your life which makes you famous. □ I am going to make national news headlines and go out in a blaze of glory.
gloss /glɒ s, [AM ] glɔː s/ (glosses , glossing , glossed )
1 N‑SING A gloss is a bright shine on the surface of something. □ Rain produced a black gloss on the asphalt.
2 N‑UNCOUNT Gloss is an appearance of attractiveness or good quality which sometimes hides less attractive features or poor quality. □ Television commercials seem more professional but beware of mistaking the gloss for the content.
3 N‑SING If you put a gloss on a bad situation, you try to make it seem more attractive or acceptable by giving people a false explanation or interpretation of it. □ [+ on ] He used his diary to put a fine gloss on the horrors the regime perpetrated.
4 N‑VAR Gloss is the same as gloss paint .
5 N‑VAR Gloss is a type of shiny make-up. □ She brushed gloss on to her eyelids. □ …lip glosses.
6 VERB If you gloss a difficult word or idea, you provide an explanation of it. □ [V n + as ] Older editors glossed 'drynke' as 'love-potion'. [Also V n]
▸ gloss over PHRASAL VERB If you gloss over a problem, a mistake, or an embarrassing moment, you try and make it seem unimportant by ignoring it or by dealing with it very quickly. □ [V P n] Some foreign governments appear happy to gloss over continued human rights abuses.
glos|sa|ry /glɒ səri, [AM ] glɔː s-/ (glossaries ) N‑COUNT A glossary of special, unusual, or technical words or expressions is an alphabetical list of them giving their meanings, for example at the end of a book on a particular subject.
glossies /glɒ siz, [AM ] glɔː s-/ N‑PLURAL The glossies are expensive magazines which are printed on thick, shiny paper. [BRIT , INFORMAL ]
glo ss paint N‑UNCOUNT Gloss paint is paint that forms a shiny surface when it dries.
glossy /glɒ si, [AM ] glɔː si/ (glossier , glossiest )
1 ADJ Glossy means smooth and shiny. □ …glossy black hair. □ The leaves were dark and glossy.
2 ADJ You can describe something as glossy if you think that it has been designed to look attractive but has little practical value or may have hidden faults. □ …a glossy new office. □ Their TV commercials are glossy and sophisticated.
3 ADJ [ADJ n] Glossy magazines, leaflets, books, and photographs are produced on expensive, shiny paper. □ …a photoshoot in a glossy magazine.
glove /glʌ v/ (gloves )
1 N‑COUNT Gloves are pieces of clothing which cover your hands and wrists and have individual sections for each finger. You wear gloves to keep your hands warm or dry or to protect them. □ …a pair of white cotton gloves.
2 PHRASE If you say that something fits like a glove , you are emphasizing that it fits exactly. [EMPHASIS ]
3 → see also kid gloves
4 hand in glove → see hand ➊
glo ve com|part|ment (glove compartments ) or glove box N‑COUNT The glove compartment in a car is a small cupboard or shelf below the front windscreen.
gloved /glʌ vd/ ADJ [usu ADJ n] A gloved hand has a glove on it. [mainly WRITTEN ]
glow /gloʊ / (glows , glowing , glowed )
1 N‑COUNT [usu sing] A glow is a dull, steady light, for example the light produced by a fire when there are no flames. □ …the cigarette's red glow. □ The rising sun casts a golden glow over the fields.
2 N‑SING A glow is a pink colour on a person's face, usually because they are healthy or have been exercising. □ The moisturiser gave my face a healthy glow that lasted all day.
3 N‑SING If you feel a glow of satisfaction or achievement, you have a strong feeling of pleasure because of something that you have done or that has happened. □ [+ of ] Exercise will give you a glow of satisfaction at having achieved something. □ [+ of ] He felt a glow of pride in what she had accomplished.
4 VERB If something glows , it produces a dull, steady light. □ [V ] The night lantern glowed softly in the darkness. □ [V adj] Even the mantel above the fire glowed white.
5 VERB If a place glows with a colour or a quality, it is bright, attractive, and colourful. □ [V + with ] Used together these colours will make your interiors glow with warmth and vitality. □ [V -ing] …carved wood bathed in glowing colors and gold leaf. [Also V ]