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ENGLISH · A WORD WITH POSSIBILITIES

window.

An opening, usually covered by one or more panes of clear glass, to allow light and air from outside to enter a building or vehicle.

6 characters2 syllables approx.English language

Meaning & usage

noun/ˈwɪndəʊ/Received-Pronunciation/ˈwɪndo/Scotland/ˈwɪndou/Wales/ˈwɪndə/Northumbria
  1. An opening, usually covered by one or more panes of clear glass, to allow light and air from outside to enter a building or vehicle.

    countable · uncountable
    She opened the window to let some air in.
  2. An opening, usually covered by glass, in a shop which allows people to view the shop and its products from outside; a shop window.

    countable · uncountable
  3. The shutter, casement, sash with its fittings, or other framework, which closes a window opening.

    countable · uncountable
  4. A period of time when something is available or possible; a limited opportunity.

    countable · figuratively · uncountable
    launch window
    window of opportunity
  5. Something that allows one to see through or into something.

    countable · figuratively · uncountable
    His journal provides a rare window into his otherwise obscure life.
  6. A restricted range.

    countable · uncountable
  7. A rectangular area on a computer terminal or screen containing some kind of user interface, displaying output and allowing input, often for a single task in a multitasking system.

    countable · uncountable
  8. A figure formed of lines crossing each other.

    countable · uncountable
  9. The time between first infection and detectability.

    countable · uncountable
  10. Synonym of chaff (“strips of material intended to confuse radar”)

    historical · uncountable
  11. A function multiplied with a signal to reduce spectral leakage when performing a Fourier transform.

    countable · uncountable
  12. A fenster: a geologic or tectonic window.

    countable · uncountable
Where this word comes from

Etymology tree Proto-Indo-European *h₂weh₁- Proto-Indo-European *-ti Proto-Indo-European *h₂wḗh₁ti Proto-Indo-European *h₂wéh₁n̥ts Proto-Germanic *windaz Old Norse vindr Proto-Indo-European *h₃ekʷ-der. Proto-Germanic *augô Proto-Norse *ᚨᚢᚷᚨ (*auga) Old Norse auga Old Norse vindaugabor. Middle English wyndowe English window From Middle English wyndowe, wyndown, from Old Norse vindauga (“window”, literally “wind-eye; wind-hole”), equivalent to wind + eye. Cognate with Scots windae and windock, Faroese vindeyga, Norwegian Bokmål vindu, Norwegian Nynorsk vindauge, Danish vindue, archaic Swedish vindöga, Elfdalian windog. Displaced native Old English ēagþȳrel (literally “eye hole”) (the rare direct descendant is eyethurl (“window, pupil, etc.”)). The “windows” among early Germanic peoples were just unglazed holes (eyes) in the wall or roof that permitted wind to pass through .

verb/ˈwɪndəʊ/Received-Pronunciation/ˈwɪndo/Scotland/ˈwɪndou/Wales/ˈwɪndə/Northumbria
  1. To furnish with windows.

    transitive
  2. To place at or in a window.

    transitive
  3. To apply a window function to (a signal).

    transitive
Where this word comes from

Etymology tree Proto-Indo-European *h₂weh₁- Proto-Indo-European *-ti Proto-Indo-European *h₂wḗh₁ti Proto-Indo-European *h₂wéh₁n̥ts Proto-Germanic *windaz Old Norse vindr Proto-Indo-European *h₃ekʷ-der. Proto-Germanic *augô Proto-Norse *ᚨᚢᚷᚨ (*auga) Old Norse auga Old Norse vindaugabor. Middle English wyndowe English window From Middle English wyndowe, wyndown, from Old Norse vindauga (“window”, literally “wind-eye; wind-hole”), equivalent to wind + eye. Cognate with Scots windae and windock, Faroese vindeyga, Norwegian Bokmål vindu, Norwegian Nynorsk vindauge, Danish vindue, archaic Swedish vindöga, Elfdalian windog. Displaced native Old English ēagþȳrel (literally “eye hole”) (the rare direct descendant is eyethurl (“window, pupil, etc.”)). The “windows” among early Germanic peoples were just unglazed holes (eyes) in the wall or roof that permitted wind to pass through .

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Definitions, grammatical labels, IPA, etymology and examples: Wiktionary contributors, extracted by Kaikki / Wiktextract. Adapted under CC BY-SA 4.0. Selected fields and authored examples are shown; third-party quotations and audio are omitted. See contributor history.

Last enriched 2026-09-10. Definitions are in English. Romanizations are shown when supplied by the source; syllable estimates are omitted for unsupported scripts.