Standard Lemma guide

glue

noun · verb · 9 senses · updated from the 2026-07-25 local source snapshot

Definitions and examples are grouped by meaning. Pronunciation, history, word forms, translations, descendants, synonyms, antonyms, derived terms, and related words appear whenever the source provides them.

Sound

Pronunciation

Each Play button uses your device's default local English voice, or a natural local fallback. The selected voice name appears after playback. This is synthesized speech, not a source recording.

  • /ɡluː/
  • US: Recorded audio is listed in the source snapshot.
  • homophone: glew (not in Wales)
  • rhymes with -uː
  • CMU ARPABET: G L UW1 Digits mark lexical stress: 1 primary, 2 secondary, 0 unstressed.

1

noun

Meaning 1

A hard gelatin made by boiling bones and hides, used in solution as an adhesive; or any sticky adhesive substance.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Usage: countable, uncountable

Examples

  • Near-synonyms: adhesive, cement

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: adhesive, cement

Antonyms: none provided

2

noun

Meaning 2

Anything that binds two things or people together.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Usage: countable, figuratively, uncountable

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

3

noun

Meaning 3

A viscid secretion on the surface of certain plants.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Usage: countable, uncountable

Topics: biology, botany, natural-sciences

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

4

verb

Meaning 4

To join or attach something using glue.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Usage: transitive

Examples

  • I need to glue the chair-leg back into place.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

5

verb

Meaning 5

To cause something to adhere closely to; to cause to follow attentively.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Usage: figuratively, transitive

Examples

  • His eyes were glued to the screen.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: adhere, cling, stick, attach, bond, cleave, cohere, conglutinate, glue, hug, stick together, stick with

Antonyms: none provided

6

verb

Meaning 6

To apply glue.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Usage: intransitive

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

7

noun

Meaning 7

cement consisting of a sticky substance that is used as an adhesive

Definition source: Princeton WordNet 3.0

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: gum, mucilage

Antonyms: none provided

Broader terms: cement

Narrower terms: animal glue, casein glue, fish glue, marine glue

8

verb

Meaning 8

be fixed as if by glue

Definition source: Princeton WordNet 3.0

Examples

  • His eyes were glued on her

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

Broader terms: fasten

9

verb

Meaning 9

join or attach with or as if with glue

Definition source: Princeton WordNet 3.0

Examples

  • paste the sign on the wall
  • cut and paste the sentence in the text

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: paste

Antonyms: none provided

Broader terms: attach

Narrower terms: epoxy

History

Etymology

Etymology tree Proto-Indo-European *gleyH- Proto-Indo-European *glóh1ytn̥ Proto-Italic *gloiten Latin glūten Late Latin glūs Old French glubor. Middle English glew English glue From Middle English glew, glue, from Old French glu (“glue, birdlime”), from Late Latin glūs (stem glūt-), from Latin glūten. Related to clay. Partially displaced native Old English līm (“glue”) and ġelīman (“to glue”) (whence modern lime).

Across languages

Translations

239 source translations are retained for this English entry.

  • Abkhaz: аҷаб (ačʼab) — sticky adhesive substance
  • Afrikaans: gom — sticky adhesive substance
  • Aklanon: pilit — sticky adhesive substance
  • Albanian: zamkë — sticky adhesive substance
  • Albanian: ngjitje — sticky adhesive substance
  • Amharic: ሙጫ (muč̣a) — sticky adhesive substance
  • Arabic: غِرَاء (ḡirāʔ) — sticky adhesive substance
  • Arabic: لِزَاق (lizāq) — sticky adhesive substance
  • Arabic: لِصَاق (liṣāq) — sticky adhesive substance
  • Arabic: لزاق (lazzāʔ) — sticky adhesive substance
  • Arabic: كوللة (kólla) — sticky adhesive substance
  • Arabic: صَمْغ (ṣamḡ) — sticky adhesive substance
  • Arabic: لصاق (lṣāq) — sticky adhesive substance
  • Arabic: صمغ (ṣamḡ) — sticky adhesive substance
  • Aramaic: ܕܒܩܐ (deḇqā) — sticky adhesive substance
  • Aramaic: ܬܬܐ (tettā) — sticky adhesive substance
  • Armenian: սոսինձ (sosinj) — sticky adhesive substance
  • Assamese: এঠা (etha) — sticky adhesive substance
  • Assamese: আঠা (atha) — sticky adhesive substance
  • Avar: сину (sinu) — sticky adhesive substance
  • Azerbaijani: yapışqan — sticky adhesive substance
  • Bashkir: елем (yelem) — sticky adhesive substance
  • Basque: itsasgarri — sticky adhesive substance
  • Belarusian: клей (kljej) — sticky adhesive substance
  • Bengali: আঠা (aṭha) — sticky adhesive substance
  • Bengali: শিরিশ (śiriś) — sticky adhesive substance
  • Bulgarian: лепи́ло (lepílo) — sticky adhesive substance
  • Bulgarian: тутка́л (tutkál) — sticky adhesive substance
  • Burmese: ကော် (kau) — sticky adhesive substance
  • Chechen: хьаьхьамч (ḥräḥramč) — sticky adhesive substance
  • Chechen: клей (klej) — sticky adhesive substance
  • Chechen: бокх (boq) — sticky adhesive substance
  • Cherokee: ᏗᎧᏅᏬᏗ (dikanvwodi) — sticky adhesive substance
  • Chinese Cantonese: 膠水 /胶水 (gaau1 seoi2) — sticky adhesive substance
  • Chinese Cantonese: 黏合劑 /黏合剂 (nim1 hap6 zai1) — sticky adhesive substance
  • Chinese Mandarin: 膠水 /胶水 (jiāoshuǐ) — sticky adhesive substance
  • Chinese Mandarin: 膠 /胶 (jiāo) — sticky adhesive substance
  • Chinese Mandarin: 黏合劑 /黏合剂 (niánhéjì) — sticky adhesive substance
  • Chuvash: ҫилӗм (śilĕm) — sticky adhesive substance
  • Czech: lepidlo — sticky adhesive substance
  • Danish: lim — sticky adhesive substance
  • Central Dusun: gaam — sticky adhesive substance
  • Dutch: lijm — sticky adhesive substance
  • Esperanto: gluo — sticky adhesive substance
  • Estonian: liim — sticky adhesive substance
  • Faroese: líma — sticky adhesive substance
  • Finnish: liima — sticky adhesive substance
  • Finnish: tymä — sticky adhesive substance
  • French: colle — sticky adhesive substance
  • West-Frisian: lymje — sticky adhesive substance
  • Galician: cola — sticky adhesive substance
  • Georgian: წებო (c̣ebo) — sticky adhesive substance
  • German: Klebstoff — sticky adhesive substance
  • German: Leim — sticky adhesive substance
  • German: Kleber — sticky adhesive substance
  • Bavarian German: Bapp — sticky adhesive substance
  • Bavarian German: Laam — sticky adhesive substance
  • Bavarian German: Loam — sticky adhesive substance
  • Bavarian German: Pick — sticky adhesive substance
  • Greek: κόλλα (kólla) — sticky adhesive substance
  • Ancient Greek: κόλλα (kólla) — sticky adhesive substance
  • Ancient Greek: γλία (glía) — sticky adhesive substance
  • Haitian Creole: lakòl — sticky adhesive substance
  • Hebrew: דֶבֶק (dévek) — sticky adhesive substance
  • Hindi: गोंद (gond) — sticky adhesive substance
  • Hindi: सरेस (sares) — sticky adhesive substance
  • Hindi: लेस (les) — sticky adhesive substance
  • White Hmong: kua nplaum — sticky adhesive substance
  • Hungarian: ragasztó — sticky adhesive substance
  • Icelandic: lím — sticky adhesive substance
  • Ido: gluo — sticky adhesive substance
  • Indonesian: lem — sticky adhesive substance
  • Ingrian: kleja — sticky adhesive substance
  • Interlingua: colla — sticky adhesive substance
  • Irish: gliú — sticky adhesive substance
  • Irish: glae — sticky adhesive substance
  • Italian: colla — sticky adhesive substance
  • Japanese: 膠 (nikawa) — sticky adhesive substance
  • Japanese: 接着剤 (setchakuzai) — sticky adhesive substance
  • Kalmyk: зусн (zusn) — sticky adhesive substance
  • Kazakh: желім (jelım) — sticky adhesive substance
  • Khmer: កាវ (kaaw) — sticky adhesive substance
  • Kikuyu: nguruu — sticky adhesive substance
  • Korean: 풀 (pul) — sticky adhesive substance
  • Korean: 접착제 (jeopchakje) — sticky adhesive substance
  • Central Kurdish: سْرێش (sirêş) — sticky adhesive substance
  • Kyrgyz: желим (jelim) — sticky adhesive substance
  • Kyrgyz: клей (kley) — sticky adhesive substance
  • Lao: ກາວ (kāo) — sticky adhesive substance
  • Latin: glūten — sticky adhesive substance
  • Latvian: līme — sticky adhesive substance
  • Lithuanian: klijai — sticky adhesive substance
  • Lithuanian: li̇̀palas — sticky adhesive substance
  • Macedonian: лепак (lepak) — sticky adhesive substance
  • Macedonian: лепило (lepilo) — sticky adhesive substance
  • Malay: gam — sticky adhesive substance
  • Maltese: kolla — sticky adhesive substance
  • Mauritian Creole: lakol — sticky adhesive substance
  • Mongolian: цавуу (cavuu) — sticky adhesive substance
  • Mongolian: жяошүй (žjaošüj) — sticky adhesive substance
  • Nepali: गम (gam) — sticky adhesive substance
  • Nepali: ग्लू (glū) — sticky adhesive substance
  • Norman: cliute — sticky adhesive substance
  • Norwegian Bokmål: lim — sticky adhesive substance
  • Old English: līm — sticky adhesive substance
  • Oromo: haphee — sticky adhesive substance
  • Papiamentu: leim — sticky adhesive substance
  • Pashto: څلېښ (ślex̌) — sticky adhesive substance
  • Pashto: څلېښت (ślex̌t) — sticky adhesive substance
  • Iranian Persian: چَسْب (časb) — sticky adhesive substance
  • Iranian Persian: سِریشُم (serišom) — sticky adhesive substance
  • Plautdietsch: Liem — sticky adhesive substance
  • Polish: klej — sticky adhesive substance
  • Portuguese: cola — sticky adhesive substance
  • Portuguese: grude — sticky adhesive substance
  • Quechua: k'aschina — sticky adhesive substance
  • Romanian: clei — sticky adhesive substance
  • Romanian: lipici — sticky adhesive substance
  • Russian: клей (klej) — sticky adhesive substance
  • Serbo-Croatian: лѐпило — sticky adhesive substance
  • Serbo-Croatian: љѐпило — sticky adhesive substance
  • Serbo-Croatian: ле̏па̄к — sticky adhesive substance
  • Serbo-Croatian: ље̏па̄к — sticky adhesive substance
  • Serbo-Croatian: ту̀ткало — sticky adhesive substance
  • Serbo-Croatian: lèpilo — sticky adhesive substance
  • Serbo-Croatian: ljèpilo — sticky adhesive substance
  • Serbo-Croatian: lȅpāk — sticky adhesive substance
  • Serbo-Croatian: ljȅpāk — sticky adhesive substance
  • Serbo-Croatian: tùtkalo — sticky adhesive substance
  • Slovak: lepidlo — sticky adhesive substance
  • Slovene: lepilo — sticky adhesive substance
  • Spanish: cola — sticky adhesive substance
  • Spanish: goma — sticky adhesive substance
  • Spanish: pegamento — sticky adhesive substance
  • Swahili: gundi — sticky adhesive substance
  • Swahili: gluu — sticky adhesive substance
  • Swedish: klister — sticky adhesive substance
  • Swedish: lim — sticky adhesive substance
  • Tagalog: kola — sticky adhesive substance
  • Tagalog: pandikit — sticky adhesive substance
  • Tagalog: pangola — sticky adhesive substance
  • Tagalog: pangkola — sticky adhesive substance
  • Tajik: елим (yelim) — sticky adhesive substance
  • Tajik: ширеш (šireš) — sticky adhesive substance
  • Tarifit: aserɣaɣ — sticky adhesive substance
  • Tatar: җилем (cilem) — sticky adhesive substance
  • Thai: กาว (gaao) — sticky adhesive substance
  • Tigrinya: ኮላ (kola) — sticky adhesive substance
  • Turkish: tutkal — sticky adhesive substance
  • Turkish: yapıştırıcı — sticky adhesive substance
  • Ottoman Turkish: طوتقال (tutkal) — sticky adhesive substance
  • Turkmen: ýelim — sticky adhesive substance
  • Ukrainian: клей (klej) — sticky adhesive substance
  • Unami: psàkwiokàn — sticky adhesive substance
  • Unami: psàkwënikàn — sticky adhesive substance
  • Urdu: سَریس (sares) — sticky adhesive substance
  • Urdu: گونْد (gond) — sticky adhesive substance
  • Urdu: لیس (les) — sticky adhesive substance
  • Uyghur: يېلىم (yëlim) — sticky adhesive substance
  • Uyghur: سىراج (siraj) — sticky adhesive substance
  • Uzbek: yelim — sticky adhesive substance
  • Uzbek: sirach — sticky adhesive substance
  • Vietnamese: keo — sticky adhesive substance
  • Vietnamese: hồ — sticky adhesive substance
  • Vietnamese: cồn — sticky adhesive substance
  • Volapük: glud — sticky adhesive substance
  • Volapük: kleibin — sticky adhesive substance
  • Yiddish: קליי (kley) — sticky adhesive substance
  • Zhuang: gyauhsuij — sticky adhesive substance
  • Zhuang: raemxgyauh — sticky adhesive substance
  • Albanian: ngjis — join with glue
  • Arabic: لَصَّقَ (laṣṣaqa) — join with glue
  • Arabic: لصق (laṣṣaq) — join with glue
  • Aramaic: ܕܒܩ (dəḇaq) — join with glue
  • Armenian: սոսնձել (sosnjel) — join with glue
  • Bashkir: йәбештереү (yəbeşterew) — join with glue
  • Catalan: encolar — join with glue
  • Chinese Cantonese: 黐 (ci1) — join with glue
  • Chinese Cantonese: 黏 (nim4) — join with glue
  • Chinese Mandarin: 黏 (nián) — join with glue
  • Chinese Mandarin: 黏貼 /黏贴 (niántiē) — join with glue
  • Cornish: glusa — join with glue
  • Czech: přilepit — join with glue
  • Czech: lepit — join with glue
  • Czech: slepit — join with glue
  • Dutch: lijmen — join with glue
  • Esperanto: glui — join with glue
  • Esperanto: alglui — join with glue
  • Finnish: liimata — join with glue
  • French: coller — join with glue
  • Georgian: დაწებება (dac̣ebeba) — join with glue
  • Georgian: მიწებება (mic̣ebeba) — join with glue
  • Georgian: ჩაწებება (čac̣ebeba) — join with glue
  • German: leimen — join with glue
  • German: kleben — join with glue
  • Greek: κολλάω (kolláo) — join with glue
  • Ancient Greek: κολλάω (kolláō) — join with glue
  • Haitian Creole: kole — join with glue
  • Hebrew: הדביק (hedbik) — join with glue
  • Hungarian: ragaszt — join with glue
  • Icelandic: líma — join with glue
  • Ido: gluagar — join with glue
  • Ido: glutinar — join with glue
  • Ingrian: kleittää — join with glue
  • Ingrian: klejata — join with glue
  • Italian: incollare — join with glue
  • Kabuverdianu: kola — join with glue
  • Latin: glūtinō — join with glue
  • Occitan: pegar — join with glue
  • Old English: ġelīman — join with glue
  • Persian: چسباندن (Chasbândan) — join with glue
  • Polish: kleić — join with glue
  • Polish: skleić — join with glue
  • Polish: przykleić — join with glue
  • Polish: lepić — join with glue
  • Polish: przylepić — join with glue
  • Portuguese: colar — join with glue
  • Romanian: lipi — join with glue
  • Romanian: încleia — join with glue
  • Russian: кле́ить (kléitʹ) — join with glue
  • Russian: скле́ить (skléitʹ) — join with glue
  • Russian: прикле́ить (prikléitʹ) — join with glue
  • Serbo-Croatian: lijépiti — join with glue
  • Slovak: prilepiť — join with glue
  • Slovak: lepiť — join with glue
  • Lower Sorbian: lipaś — join with glue
  • Spanish: encolar — join with glue
  • Spanish: pegar — join with glue
  • Spanish: retentar — join with glue
  • Swedish: klistra — join with glue
  • Swedish: limma — join with glue
  • Turkish: tutkallamak — join with glue
  • Turkish: yapıştırmak — join with glue
  • Ottoman Turkish: طوتقاللامق (tutkallamak) — join with glue
  • Ukrainian: кле́їти (kléjity) — join with glue
  • Unami: psàkwëni — join with glue
  • Volapük: gludön — join with glue
  • Volapük: kleibön me glud — join with glue
  • Yiddish: צוקלעפּן (tsuklepn) — join with glue