/ glɒs; NAmE glɔːs; glɑːs/ noun , verb
■ noun
1.
[ U , sing. ] a shine on a smooth surface :
paper with a high gloss on one side
The gel gives your hair a gloss.
You can have the photos with either a gloss or a matt finish.
2.
[ U ] (often in compounds) a substance designed to make sth shiny :
lipgloss
3.
(also ˌgloss ˈpaint ) [ U ] paint which, when dry, has a hard shiny surface :
two coats of gloss
4.
[ U , sing. ] an attractive appearance that is only on the surface and hides what is not so attractive :
Beneath the gloss of success was a tragic private life.
This scandal has taken the gloss off the occasion.
5.
[ C ] gloss (on sth) a way of explaining sth to make it seem more attractive or acceptable :
The director puts a Hollywood gloss on the civil war.
6.
[ C ] gloss (on sth) a note or comment added to a piece of writing to explain a difficult word or phrase
■ verb
[ vn ] gloss sth (as sth) to add a note or comment to a piece of writing to explain a difficult word or idea
•
PHRASAL VERBS
- gloss over sth
••
WORD ORIGIN
noun senses 1 to 5 and gloss over sth. mid 16th cent.: of unknown origin.
noun sense 6 and verb mid 16th cent.: alteration of the noun gloze , from Old French glose a gloss, comment, suggested by medieval Latin glossa explanation of a difficult word, from Greek glōssa word needing explanation, language, tongue.