glaze

Everyday

1. A glaze is a shiny coating painted on pottery before it is baked in a kiln, which makes it smooth, coloured and waterproof. tree →
2. A glaze in cooking is a shiny coating of egg, sugar, syrup or juice brushed onto food. tree →
3. (verb) To glaze a window means to fit glass into it. tree →
4. (verb) If your eyes glaze over, they go dull and blank because you are bored or tired. tree →

In the lessons

In art lessons pupils glaze clay pots and tiles. In cooking, pastry is glazed with beaten egg and doughnuts with sugar. In building, «double glazing» means windows with two layers of glass. In stories, eyes that «glaze over» show boredom. Phrases: «glaze over», «double glazing», «egg glaze».

Examples

• We painted a blue glaze on our clay bowls. tree →
• Brush the pastry with an egg glaze. tree →
• The doughnuts have a chocolate glaze. tree →
• The builder glazed the new windows. tree →
• Our house has double glazing to keep it warm. tree →
• His eyes glazed over when Dad talked about taxes. tree →
• The glaze turned shiny in the kiln. tree →
• Her eyes were glazing, and her heart breaking; but so it would have been, even had the sun not shone that morning on Anna Dorothea. tree →

Note

Regular verb: glazed (adjective too: «glazed doughnut», «a glazed look»). A glazier is a person who fits glass. In pottery, a glaze must be fired in a kiln to become glassy; before that it is a powdery paint.