# window

Pronunciation: say "WIN-doh" US /ˈwɪndoʊ/, UK /ˈwɪndəʊ/

## Noun

1. 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.
   - Simple: An opening in a wall or car, usually with glass, that lets in light and air.
   - _He cracked the window open to clear the smoke from the kitchen._
   - _Passengers gazed out the train windows at the passing fields._
2. A framed rectangular area on a screen that displays a program's output and accepts input, often handling a single task at a time.
   - Simple: A box on a computer screen that shows one program or task.
   - _She resized the window so both documents were visible at once._
   - _Each open window showed a different chat conversation._
3. 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.
   - Simple: A short period of time when something can happen or be done.
   - _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._
4. 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.
   - Simple: An opening or counter where people are served, for example to buy tickets or pick up food.
   - _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._
5. Something that offers a view into or insight about something otherwise hidden.
   - Simple: Something that lets you see into or understand something else.
   - _The interview gave viewers a window into the artist's creative process._
   - _Fossils serve as a window onto life millions of years ago._
6. A glass-fronted opening at the front of a shop that lets passersby see the goods on display inside.
   - Simple: A glass opening at the front of a store where products are shown to people outside.
   - _The boutique rearranged its window to feature the new spring collection._
   - _He pressed close to the jeweler's window, eyeing the watches inside._
7. A little cut-out or see-through section in something such as an envelope or a watch face, letting whatever is behind it show through.
   - Simple: A small hole or clear part in something, like an envelope, that lets you see what is behind it.
   - _Fold the letter so the customer's name appears in the window of the envelope._
   - _Through a clear plastic window in the box, shoppers could see the doll inside._
8. A restricted range of values or conditions within which something must remain.
   - Simple: A small range of values or conditions that something must stay inside.
   - _The reactor must operate within a strict temperature window._
   - _Acceptable sensor readings fall inside a fairly narrow window._
12. Thin strips of metal foil released from aircraft to scatter radar signals and mask the true position of planes; a synonym of chaff.
   - Simple: Thin strips of metal foil dropped from planes to confuse enemy radar.
   - _RAF crews first dropped window during the bombing raids on Hamburg in 1943._
   - _Operators watched the screen fill with false echoes as the bombers released window._

## Verb

10. To fit or furnish a structure with windows.
   - Simple: To put windows into a building or wall.
   - _Because the south side of the building was heavily windowed, the living room stayed bright and warm even in midwinter._
   - _The old factory was heavily windowed so that workers could see clearly without electric light._

## Verb

9. To set or display something at or in a window. *(obsolete)*
   - Simple: To put something at or in a window so people can see it.

## Noun

11. A figure made up of lines that cross one another. *(obsolete)*
   - Simple: A shape made of lines that cross over each other.

## Other meanings

- (noun) A function applied to a signal by multiplication that suppresses spectral leakage during a Fourier transform.
- (verb) To apply a window function to a signal by multiplication, typically before frequency analysis.

## 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").

Source: DictionaryAI, https://dictionaryai.com/define/window (written from Wiktionary data, CC BY-SA 4.0: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/).