| 1. | a drinking glass; tumbler. |
| 2. | a glass container for holding water, as for growing bulbs, plants, or the like. |
| 3. | a glass tube used to indicate water level, as in a boiler. |
| 4. | a device for observing objects beneath the surface of the water, consisting essentially of an open tube or box with a glass bottom. |
| 5. | sodium silicate. |

| any of several clear, white, or greenish water-soluble compounds of formulas varying in ratio from Na2O·3.75SiO2 to 2Na2O·SiO2: used chiefly in dyeing, printing, and fireproofing textiles and in the manufacture of paper products and cement. |
| sodium silicate n. Any of various water-soluble silicate glass compounds used as a preservative for eggs, in plaster and cement, and in various purification and refining processes. Also called soluble glass, water glass. |
| water glass n.
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water glass n.
See soluble glass.
water glass
crystal-like lumps that range from colourless to white or grayish white and resemble glass but can be dissolved in water to form a syrupy liquid. Some forms are slightly soluble, and some are almost insoluble; they are best dissolved by heating with water under pressure. A little water dissolves water glass more readily than much water does. The solutions are strongly alkaline. The chemical formulas Na2SiO3, Na6Si2O7, and Na2Si3O7 describe the composition of various forms of water glass.
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