How to pronounce gloss
Say it like GLAWS. Gloss is a single syllable, so the whole word carries the stress.
Click the play button next to American or British to hear how to pronounce gloss. Choose Slow to hear each sound clearly.
- GLAWS
- Main stress
- Lighter stress
- Unstressed
Gloss pronunciation, sound by sound
Read the parts left to right, then blend them together without pausing.
- GLAWSSay this part loudest and longest. The vowel is the "aw" in law.
American vs British pronunciation of gloss
American and British speakers say gloss in essentially the same way: /ɡlɔs/ in the US and /ɡlɒs/ in the UK.
British respelling: GLOS.
What does gloss mean?
- A surface shine or luster.
- A superficially or deceptively attractive appearance.
- A brief explanatory note or translation of a foreign, archaic, technical, difficult, complex, or uncommon expression, inserted after the original, in the margin of a document, or between lines of a text.
- Synonym of glossary, a collection of such notes.
- An extensive commentary on some text.
- To give a gloss or sheen to.
- To make (something) attractive by deception
- To become shiny.
Where does gloss come from?
Probably from a North Germanic language, compare Icelandic glossi (“spark, flame”), glossa (“to flame”); or perhaps from dialectal Dutch gloos (“a glow, flare”), related to West Frisian gloeze (“a glow”), Middle Low German glȫsen (“to smoul
Similar and opposite words
Similar meaning
Words that rhyme with gloss
Practicing rhymes is a quick way to lock in the vowel sound of gloss.
Questions about saying gloss
How do you pronounce gloss?
Say GLAWS. The American pronunciation is /ɡlɔs/. In British English it is /ɡlɒs/. Press play above to hear it at normal speed or slowly.
How many syllables are in gloss?
Gloss is a single syllable, so the whole word carries the stress. Broken into parts: GLAWS.
Do Americans and Brits say gloss the same way?
Almost exactly. The American form is /ɡlɔs/ and the British form is /ɡlɒs/, so you can use either pronunciation with any listener.