gild

\ ˈgild

How to pronounce gild (audio)

\

gilded\ ˈgil-dəd

How to pronounce gilded (audio)

\ or gilt\ ˈgilt

How to pronounce gilt (audio)

\; gilding

Definition of gild

(Entry 1 of 2)

transitive verb

1 : to overlay with or as if with a thin covering of gold

2a : to give money to

b : to give an attractive but often deceptive appearance to was hired to gild the company's image

c archaic : to make bloody

gild the lily

: to add unnecessary ornamentation to something beautiful in its own right

gild

less common spelling of guild

1 : an association of people with similar interests or pursuits especially : a medieval association of merchants or craftsmen

2 : a group of organisms that use the same ecological resource in a similar way a feeding guild

Other Words from gild Example Sentences Learn More about gild

Keep scrolling for more

Examples of gild in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web: Verb Apple first rose to fame as a troubadour of sad songs gilded with rage, her voice burning with emotion. — Josephine Livingstone, The New Republic, "Fiona Apple Gets Free," 21 Apr. 2020 Rather than repair the damage, the savvy city instead decided to gild the cannon ball — highlighting the monument’s imperviousness to attack. — Los Angeles Times, "Commentary: U.S. should build a memorial ‘plague column’ for COVID-19, but where? Here’s an idea," 5 May 2020 Three-quarters of the world’s Bruegel paintings under one roof would be more than enough for a blockbuster, but the curators have gilded the lily by adding nearly half of the master’s surviving drawings and prints. — J.s. Marcus, WSJ, "Strange and Stirring Bruegel," 7 Sep. 2018 Everything after that is, in a certain sense, gilding the lily. — David Kender, USA TODAY, "How high-tech does an electric toothbrush really need to be?," 20 Jan. 2020 The coffin that’s left is gilded and painted with winged gods, beetles, falcons, panthers, and inscriptions. — Brian T. Allen, National Review, "In Montreal, Egyptian Mummies, in 3-D, Have Secrets to Share," 18 Jan. 2020 The mood appears to die down, in twilit tranquillity, at the close of Ruiz’s début day, with Les Bosquets gilded by the sun’s last rays. — Anthony Lane, The New Yorker, "Paris on the Brink in “Les Misérables”," 3 Jan. 2020 In the large room of a house in a certain quiet city in Flanders, a man was gilding a devil. — Michael Dirda, Washington Post, "‘Black Magic’ is an oft-overlooked thriller. Don’t overlook it.," 5 June 2019 To those who gild these streets with their sweat, the boom has been a blessing. — chicagotribune.com, "She feeds Bel-Air’s mega-mansion boom. But lunch is a battlefield," 13 Nov. 2019

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'gild.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

Keep scrolling for more

Learn More about gild

Dictionary Entries near gild

Gilbert and Ellice

Gilbert Islands

Statistics for gild

Last Updated

13 Jun 2020

Cite this Entry

“Gild.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/gild. Accessed 10 Jul. 2020.

Keep scrolling for more

Keep scrolling for more

WORD OF THE DAY

histrionic

See Definitions and Examples »

Test Your Vocabulary

Words for Summer: A Quiz

Which of the following words means “of or relating to summer”?

Can you spell these 10 commonly misspelled words?

Dictionary Devil

Test Your Knowledge - and learn some interesting things along the way.