DictionaryAI

window

SayWIN-doh/ˈwɪndoʊ//ˈwɪndəʊ/

Pluralwindows

14 meanings of window

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  1. 1
    glass openingnouncountable or uncountable
    An opening in a wall, roof, or vehicle that lets in light and air, usually filled with glass in a frame; the frame and glass themselves.

    He cracked the window open to clear the smoke from the kitchen.

    Passengers gazed out the train windows at the passing fields.

    UsageYou look out of the window or out the window; you open, shut or crack a window.

  2. 2
    on screennouncountable or uncountable
    A framed rectangular area on a screen that displays a program's output and accepts input, often handling a single task at a time.

    She resized the window so both documents were visible at once.

    Each open window showed a different chat conversation.

    UsageYou open, close, move and resize a window.

    Note

    On screen the metaphor is almost literal: a framed pane through which one program is seen and worked. A windowing system manages each window separately. It draws the window's output onto the display and sends keystrokes and clicks to the program that owns it.

    Checked 2 Nov 2026 · 1 fact

    • A windowing system separately manages display areas and coordinates applications' display output and user input. en.wikipedia.org
  3. 3
    time slotnounfigurativelycountable or uncountable
    A limited period of time during which something is possible or available, or during which something happens, as in the gap before an infection can be detected.

    The launch crew waited for a clear weather window before takeoff.

    There's only a brief window each spring when the river is safe to cross.

    UsageOften with a size or length: a narrow window, a two-hour window, a window of opportunity.

    Similarslot, opening, period

    Note

    The image is of time as an opening that will close: something can pass through, but only while the gap lasts. It suits the language of planning, from spaceflight to rescues.

  4. 4
    nouncountable
    A service opening or counter where staff deal with customers, for example to sell tickets, handle bank business, or hand out food at a drive-through.

    Only one window was open at the bank, so the line stretched to the door.

    The ticket window at the station closes at midnight, but the machines work all night.

    UsageYou buy or pay at the window: the ticket window.

    Similarcounter

  5. 5
    insightnounfigurativelycountable or uncountable
    Something that offers a view into or insight about something otherwise hidden.

    The interview gave viewers a window into the artist's creative process.

    Fossils serve as a window onto life millions of years ago.

    UsageFollowed by into, on, or onto: a window into the past, a window on the world.

    Similarinsight, glimpse, view

    Note

    The figure is of access to what is usually hidden: a journal or a newspaper lets an outsider look in.

  6. 6
    shop displaynouncountable or uncountable
    A glass-fronted opening at the front of a shop that lets passersby see the goods on display inside.

    The boutique rearranged its window to feature the new spring collection.

    He pressed close to the jeweler's window, eyeing the watches inside.

    UsageGoods are in the window; looking without buying is window-shopping.

    Similardisplay, showcase

    Note

    This is the window of shopkeeping, where goods are arranged behind glass to catch the eye of people in the street. Several everyday phrases grew from it. Window-shopping means looking at goods with no plan to buy, and a window display is the arrangement itself. Shops change their windows with the seasons, so dressing the window is a craft of its own.

    Checked 31 Oct 2026 · 4 facts

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Can you tell the meanings of window apart? Answer 3 quick questions from this page, or write your own sentence and AI will check it.

Origin

From Middle English wyndowe, borrowed from Old Norse vindauga, literally "wind-eye" or "wind-hole" (wind + eye). Among early Germanic peoples, "windows" were simply unglazed holes in the wall or roof that let the wind pass through, and the word displaced the native Old English ēagþȳrel ("eye hole").

Checked 31 Oct 2026 · 3 facts

  • Window comes from Middle English wyndowe, borrowed from Old Norse vindauga. en.wiktionary.org
  • Vindauga literally means wind-eye or wind-hole and combines wind and eye. en.wiktionary.org
  • Window displaced native Old English ēagþȳrel, meaning eye hole. en.wiktionary.org