glow
UK/ɡləʊ//ɡloʊ/
glow verb: to emit heat and light without a flame.
Verb (1)
glow (third-person singular simple present glows, present participle glowing, simple past glowed or (dialectal) glew, past participle glowed or (dialectal) glew or (dialectal) glown)
- To emit heat and light without a flame.
- Iron glows red hot when heated to near its melting point.
- Of a fire: to emit heat and light.
- The fire was still glowing after ten hours.
- The mettled Steeds, vvhen from their Noſtrils flovvs / The ſcorching Fire, that in their Entrails glovvs.1717, Joseph Addison, “Book II. [The Story of Phaeton.]”, in Ovid’s Metamorphoses in Fifteen Books. […], London: […] Jacob Tonson, […], →OCLC, page 40
- To emit light brightly and steadily as if heated to a high temperature; to shine.
- [N]ovv glovv'd the Firmament / VVith living Saphirs: […]1667, John Milton, “Book IV”, in Paradise Lost. […], London: […] [Samuel Simmons], and are to be sold by Peter Parker […]; [a]nd by Robert Boulter […]; [a]nd Matthias Walker, […], →OCLC, signature...
- The Temple ſhakes, the ſounding Gates unfold, / VVide Vaults appear, and Roofs of fretted Gold: / […] / Of bright, tranſparent Beryl vvere the VValls, / The Freezes Gold, and Gold the Capitals: / As Heaven vvith Stars, the Roof vvith Jevvels glovvs, / And ever living Lamps depend in Rovvs.1715, [Alexander] Pope, The Temple of Fame: A Vision, London: […] Bernard Lintott […], →OCLC, page 17
- To be very hot; also, to be on fire; to burn.
- [T]he torrid Zone / Glovvs vvith the paſſing and repaſſing Sun.1697, Virgil, “The First Book of the Georgics”, in John Dryden, transl., The Works of Virgil: Containing His Pastorals, Georgics, and Æneis. […], London: […] Jacob Tonson, […], →OCLC, page 59, lines...
- Firſt vvith nice eye emerging Naiads cull / From leathery pods the vegetable vvool [cotton]; / VVith vviry teeth revolving cards releaſe / The tangled knots, and ſmooth the ravell'd fleece; / […] / Then fly the ſpoles, the rapid axles glovv, / And ſlovvly circumvolves the labouring vvheel belovv.1789, [Erasmus Darwin], “Canto II”, in The Botanic Garden; a Poem, in Two Parts. […], London: J[oseph] Johnson, […], published 1791, →OCLC, part II (The Loves of the Plants; 3rd edition), pages...
- Of a colour: to be bright; also, of a thing: to have a bright colour.
- The new baby’s room glows with bright, loving colours.
- To vvhom the Angel vvith a ſmile that glovv'd / Celeſtial roſie red, Loves proper hue, / Anſvver'd.1667, John Milton, “Book VII”, in Paradise Lost. […], London: […] [Samuel Simmons], and are to be sold by Peter Parker […]; [a]nd by Robert Boulter […]; [a]nd Matthias Walker, […], →OCLC, signature...
- Of a person: to display intense emotion.
- a healthy glow
- The zealots glowed with religious fervor.
- Of a person's body or a part of it: to feel hot and often to flush (“become suffused with a reddish colour”) as well, due to an emotional response, exertion, etc.
- After their workout, the gymnasts’ faces were glowing.
- Moreover, is not this an opinion generally received, That vvhen our ears do glovv and tingle, ſome there be that in our abſence doe talke of us?1601, C[aius] Plinius Secundus [i.e., Pliny the Elder], “[Book XXVIII.] Whether Words, Spels, or Charmes, are Available in Physicke. Also whither Wonders and Strange Prodigies may be either Wrought...
- To be involved in an (chiefly online) undercover sting operation, especially by American federal agencies.
- If this post glows any brighter I'm going to need sunglasses. 😄🕶👌2018 August 26, anonymous author, “Cryptographic Crumpling: The Encryption ‘Middle Ground’ for Government Surveillance”, in alt.privacy (Usenet)
- To create a threatening online post that may involve violence, and look suspicious enough to attract a police investigation.
- To emit (flame).
- Shall Pagan Pages glovv celeſtial Flame, / And Chriſtian, languiſh?1743, [Edward Young], “Night the Fourth. The Christian Triumph.”, in The Complaint: Or, Night-Thoughts on Life, Death, and Immortality, London: […] R[obert] Dodsley, […]; [a]nd sold by M[ary] Cooper...
- To expose (someone) to the authorities.
- To make (something) hot; to heat.
- On each ſide her, / Stood pretty Dimpled Boyes, like ſmiling Cupids, / VVith diuers coulour'd Fannes vvhoſe vvinde did ſeeme / To gloue the delicate cheekes vvhich they did coole, / And vvhat they vndid did.c. 1606–1607 (date written), William Shakespeare, “The Tragedie of Anthonie and Cleopatra”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard...
Noun
glow (countable and uncountable, plural glows)
- A state of heat and light being emitted by a hot object.
- The struggling spark of good within, / Just smother'd in the strife of sin, / They quicken to a timely glow, / The pure flame spreading high and low.1827, [John Keble], “Fourth Sunday after Easter”, in The Christian Year: Thoughts in Verse for the Sundays and Holydays throughout the Year, volume I, Oxford, Oxfordshire: […] [B]y W. Baxter, for J....
- My garden is the cloven rock, / And my manure the snow; / And drifting sand-heaps feed my stock, / In summer's scorching glow.1847, R[alph] W[aldo] Emerson, “Woodnotes”, in Poems, Boston, Mass.: James Munroe and Company, →OCLC, part II, page 75
- A state of heat being emitted by a person or an animal's body.
- He had so heated himself with rapid walking in the fog and frost, this nephew of Scrooge's, that he was all in a glow; his face was ruddy and handsome; his eyes sparkled, and his breath smoked again.1843 December 19, Charles Dickens, “Stave I. Marley’s Ghost.”, in A Christmas Carol. […], London: Chapman & Hall, […], →OCLC, page 7
- ["]You must be frozen." / "Well, Lizzie, I ain't of a glow; that's certain. And my hands seemed nailed through to the sculls. See how dead they are!"1864 May – 1865 November, Charles Dickens, “Cut Adrift”, in Our Mutual Friend. […], volume I, London: Chapman and Hall, […], published 1865, →OCLC, 1st book (The Cup and the Lip), page 56
- A state of light being emitted by something (for example, a bioluminescent animal or fungus, or a mineral) which is not hot; luminescence.
- So if you find yourself regularly up late at night, basking in the TV's glow, you might be doing more than just depriving yourself of sleep.2025 December 9, Veronique Greenwood, “Your Bedroom Probably Isn’t Dark Enough”, in Time, New York, N.Y.: Time Inc., →ISSN, →OCLC, archived from the original on 09 Dec 2025
- A state of brightness or warmth of colour; specifically, a reddish colour on a person's face indicating health or youth; a flush.
- He had a bright red glow on his face.
- If you vvill ſee a pageant truely plaid / Betvveene the pale complexion of true Loue, / And the red glovve of ſcorne and provvd diſdaine, / Goe hence a little, and I ſhall conduct you / If you vvill marke it.c. 1598–1600 (date written), William Shakespeare, “As You Like It”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward] Blount...
- A condition of being passionate or having warm feelings; an ardour.
- There's not a joy the world can give like that it takes away, / When the glow of early thought declines in feeling's dull decay; […]1815 March (date written), Lord Byron, “Stanzas for Music”, in Poems, London: […] [F]or John Murray, […]; by W[illiam] Bulmer and Co. […], published 1816, →OCLC, stanza 1, page 16
- […] Romola felt herself surrounded and possessed by the glow of his passionate faith.1862 July – 1863 August, George Eliot [pseudonym; Mary Ann Evans], “An Arresting Voice”, in Romola. […], volume II, London: Smith, Elder and Co., […], published 1863, →OCLC, book II, page 263
Verb (2)
glow (third-person singular simple present glows, present participle glowing, simple past and past participle glowed)
- To look intently; to stare.
- Borgnoyer. To vvant an eye; to looke, or ſee but vvith one eye; […] alſo, to glovv, glote, or loure.1611, Randle Cotgrave, compiler, “Borgnoyer”, in A Dictionarie of the French and English Tongues, London: […] Adam Islip, →OCLC, signature Eeee iij, recto, column 1
- [A] thouſand frantick Spirits / Peep'd from the VVatry brink, and glovv'd upon me.1679, [John] Dryden, [Nathaniel] Lee, Oedipus: A Tragedy. […], London: […] R. Bentley and M. Magnes […], →OCLC, Act IV, page 60
glow meaning in Hindi, Tamil, Urdu and Bengali
glow in Hindi
- to emit heat and light without a flame
- चमकना camaknā
- state of heat and light being emitted by a hot object
- चमक camak
glow in Tamil
- ஒளிர்வு, ஒளிவீச்சு, கனல் ஒளி, ஒளிர், மிளிர், பொலிவு
glow in Urdu
- to glow
- چمکنا camaknā
- glow, lustre
- رونق raunaq
- glow
- چمک camak
glow in Bengali
- glow
- অংশু oṅśu
More languagesFewer languages
- glow in Malayalam
- തിളങ്ങുക, മുഖം ചുവക്കുക, പ്രകാശിക്കുക, എരിയുക
- glow in Kannada
- ಹೊಳಪು, ಕಾಂತಿ, ದೀಪ್ತಿ, ಕಾವಿನಿಂದ ಬಂದ ಪ್ರಕಾಶ
- glow in Punjabi
- رونق rauṇaq, ਤਪਣਾ tapṇā
- glow in Sanskrit
- दीप् dīp, ज्वलति jválati
- glow in Arabic
- أَشَعَّ ʔašaʕʕa
Examples of glow in a sentence
- You are glowing from happiness!
- The Sun, how it gloweth, all day gloweth down, / On the gray of thy turrets, O wonderful town!1859, [Martha Perry Lowe], “A Song of the Sun. Seville.”, in The Olive and the Pine, Boston, Mass.: Crosby, Nichols, and Co., […], →OCLC...
- [N]ow, evermore, till thy long race is run, mine eyes shall glow into thy brain, and mine arms shall clasp thee, when thou wouldst take the wings of the Morning, and flee from the embrace of Night!1842, [Edward Bulwer-Lytton], chapter XIII, in Zanoni. […], volume III, London: Saunders & Otley, […], →OCLC, 7th book (The Reign of...
- The hills glowed like purple amethysts, the sky glowed topaz and vermilion colours.1827 November 11 (date written), Walter Scott, “[Entry dated 11 November 1827]”, in David Douglas, editor, The Journal of Sir Walter Scott...
- [H]is tunic glowed in the richest hues of the Tyrian dye, and the fibulæ, or buckles, by which it was fastened sparkled with emeralds: […]1834, [Edward Bulwer-Lytton], “The Two Gentlemen of Pompei”, in The Last Days of Pompeii. […], volume I, London: Richard Bentley, […]...
Forms of glow
| Verb | |
|---|---|
| third-person singular present | glows |
| present participle | glowing |
| past | glowed |
| past participle | glowed |
| past (dialectal) | glew |
| past participle (dialectal) | glew |
| past participle (dialectal) | glown |
| second-person singular present (archaic) | glowest |
| second-person singular past (archaic) | glowedst |
| third-person singular present (archaic) | gloweth |
| Noun | |
| plural | glows |
Origin of glow
The verb is derived from Middle English glouen, glowen (“to give off heat and light without flame; of a thing: to be heated until red hot; to be brightly coloured; to shine brightly; (figurative) to be filled with emotion; of the face, etc.: to turn red, flush; etc.”), and then either: * from Old English glōwan (“to glow”) (a strong verb), from Proto-West Germanic *glōan (“to glow”); or * because the Middle English and modern English words are weak verbs, possibly from Old Norse *glówa, thought to be a variant of glóa (“to glow”), also a weak verb; both from Proto-Germanic *glōaną (“to glow”), ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *ǵʰleh₁- (“to shine, glow; to be shining, glowing”). Possibly a doublet of glass. The noun is derived from the verb. cognates * Dutch gloeien * Finnish loistaa * German glühen * Norwegian glo * Old Norse glóa (Danish glo, Icelandic glóa, Swedish glo) * Saterland Frisian gloie, glöie, gluuje * West Frisian gloeie
From Late Middle English glouen (“to gaze, stare”); further etymology uncertain, possibly either: * from glouen, glowen (“to give off heat and light without flame; of a thing: to be heated until red hot; to be brightly coloured; to shine brightly; (figurative) to be filled with emotion; of the face, etc.: to turn red, flush; etc.”); or * from Old Norse glóa (“to shine”) (whence Norwegian Nynorsk glo (“to stare”) and Swedish glo (“to stare”)). See further at etymology 1.
Words formed from glow
- glower
- aglow
- glew
- GloFish
- glowing
- glow-in-the-dark
- glownigger
- glow up
- outglow
- glowy
- reglow
- afterglow
- airglow
- Asian glow
- aspenglow
- candleglow
- counterglow
- Day-Glo
- dayglow
- electroglow
- evenglow
- foreglow
- glow-beetle
- glowboy
- glow-bug
- glow discharge
- glow-down
- glow fly
- glowlamp
- glow-lamp
- glowless
- glowlight
- glowlighting
- glow party
- glow plug
- glowpost
- glow rod
- glowsome
- glow starter
- glow stick
- glowstone
- glow-up
- glowworm
- golden glow
- moonglow
- neon glow lamp
- nightglow
- overglow
- photoglow
- skyglow
- sunglow
- underglow
- wonderglow
Phrases with glow
Words that rhyme with glow
Questions about glow
- What does glow mean?
- Glow means to emit heat and light without a flame.
- What is glow in Hindi?
- Glow in Hindi is चमकना (camaknā), चमक (camak). See Glow meaning in Hindi.
- How do you use glow in a sentence?
- You are glowing from happiness!
- What part of speech is glow?
- Glow can be a verb or a noun.
- How do you pronounce glow?
- Glow is pronounced /ɡləʊ/ (UK).
- What is the past tense of glow?
- The past tense of glow is glowed.
Words near glow in the dictionary
Source and license
Adapted from Wiktionary: glow (page history and authors); glow (Tamil Wiktionary) (page history and authors); رونق (Urdu) (page history and authors); অংশু (Bengali) (page history and authors); glow (Malayalam Wiktionary) (page history and authors); glow (Kannada Wiktionary) (page history and authors); رونق (Punjabi) (page history and authors); ज्वलति (Sanskrit) (page history and authors). Text available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 license. Word.ws reformatted the entry and added links. Wiktionary data of 2026-09-02.
Last updated:
Pronunciation audio from Wikimedia Commons, each file under its own free license: En-us-glow.ogg.
Cite this entry: “glow.” Word.ws, https://word.ws/glow. Based on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.