mirror

/ˈmɪrər/

/ˈmɪrə/

Other forms: mirrors; mirrored; mirroring

A mirror is a glass surface backed with a metallic coating that reflects images that are in front of it. When you gaze at yourself in a mirror, your own face gazes right back at you.

"Mirror, mirror on the wall, who's the fairest of them all?" asks the evil queen in "Snow White," as she admires her reflection. Ordinary mirrors can't answer this question, but they can show you how you look in your new hat or whether you have spinach between your teeth. And the verb mirror means "reflect," as when the surface of a lake mirrors the sky.

Definitions of mirror

1. noun

   polished surface that forms images by reflecting light
   types:

   car mirror

   a mirror that the driver of a car can use

   cheval glass

   a full length mirror mounted in a frame in which it can be tilted

   hand glass, hand mirror

   a mirror intended to be held in the hand

   glass, looking glass

   a mirror; usually a ladies' dressing mirror

   pier glass, pier mirror

   a large mirror between two windows

   speculum

   a mirror (especially one made of polished metal) for use in an optical instrument

   outside mirror

   car mirror that reflects the view at side and behind car

   rearview mirror

   car mirror that reflects the view out of the rear window

   type of:

   reflector

   device that reflects radiation
2. noun

   a faithful depiction or reflection
   “the best mirror is an old friend”

   type of:

   depicting, depiction, portrayal, portraying

   a representation by picture or portraiture
3. verb

   reflect as if in a mirror
   “The smallest pond at night mirrors the firmament above”

   type of:

   reflect, reverberate

   throw or bend back (from a surface)
4. verb

   reflect or resemble
   type of:

   reflect

   give evidence of