glue

1 of 2

noun

ˈglü 

1

a

: any of various strong adhesive substances

especially : a hard protein chiefly gelatinous substance that absorbs water to form a viscous solution with strong adhesive properties and that is obtained by cooking down collagenous materials (such as hides or bones)

b

: a solution of glue used for sticking things together

2

: something that binds together

… enough social glue … to satisfy the human desire for community.

—E. D. Hirsch, Jr.

gluey

ˈglü-ē 

adjective

gluily

ˈglü-ə-lē 

adverb

glue

2 of 2

verb

glued; gluing also glueing

transitive verb

1

: to cause to stick tightly with or as if with glue

gluing the parts together

used that war to glue together a frail story

—Gloria Emerson

2

: to cause to remain continuously or to be fixed steadily

—usually used with to

The spectators were glued to their seats.

all eyes glued to the TV screen

Synonyms of glue

Noun

• adhesive

Examples of glue in a Sentence

Noun

The hardware store offers several different glues.

used glue to stick the photo in the album

Verb

I glued the pieces of the cup back together.

Recent Examples on the Web

Noun

And of course, Combs, the early glue for their sometimes-dysfunctional family. — Nancy Dillon, Rolling Stone, 21 Sep. 2026

But though a large language model telling you to put glue on pizza might mean nothing more than a few laughs—not all uses of AI are so low stakes. — Will McCurdy, PC Magazine, 19 Sep. 2026

Verb

Among the various materials that Bentley can use to trim the interior are a new merino wool fabric and a wood finish that’s made from up to 1,000 walnut offcuts glued together, then sliced up to use as a veneer. — Jonathan M. Gitlin, ArsTechnica, 23 Sep. 2026

Students can make mosaics, using pre-cut shapes of wood and gluing pieces of glass to the surface, making everything from decorative mirrors and picture frames to unicorns and owls. — Emily M. Olson, Hartford Courant, 23 Sep. 2026

Word History

Etymology

Noun

Middle English glu, from Anglo-French, from Late Latin glut-, glus; akin to Latin gluten glue — more at clay

First Known Use

Noun

14th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1a

Verb

14th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Phrases Containing glue

• crazy-glue
• stick like glue
• super-glue

Rhymes for glue

• blew
• blue
• boo
• brew
• chew
• chou
• clue
• coo
• coup
• crew
• cue
• dew

Kids Definition

glue

1 of 2 noun

ˈglü 

: a substance used to stick things tightly together

gluey

ˈglu-ē 

adjective

glue

2 of 2 verb

glued; gluing also glueing

: to stick with or as if with glue