window

Universal Words noun 1 an opening in the wall or roof of a building, car, etc., usually covered with glass, that allows light and air to come in and people to see out; the glass in a window: She looked out of the window. * Do you mind if I open the window? * the bedroom / car / kitchen window * a broken window seealsoBAYWINDOW, DORMERWINDOW, FRENCHWINDOW, PICTUREWINDOW, ROSEWINDOW, SASHWINDOW 2 the glass at the front of a shop/store and the area behind it where goods are shown to the public: I saw the dress I wanted in the window. * a window display 3 an area within a frame on a computer screen, in which a particular programme is operating or in which information of a particular type is shown: to create / open a window 4 a small area of sth that you can see through, for example to talk to sb or read sth on the other side: There was a long line of people at the box-office window. * The address must be clearly visible through the window of the envelope. 5 [sing.] ~ on / into sth a way of seeing and learning about sth: Television is a sort of window on the world. * It gave me an intriguing window into the way people live. 6 a time when there is an opportunity to do sth, although it may not last long: We now have a small window of opportunity in which to make our views known. IDIOMS fly / go out (of) the window (informal) to stop existing; to disappear completely: As soon as the kids arrived, order went out of the window.