vitrify

/ˌvɪtrəˈfaɪ/

Other forms: vitrified; vitrifying; vitrifies

If you vitrify something, you turn it into glass or a glass-like substance. Glassmakers can vitrify sand to make glass.

Chemists study how substances change. One such extreme change is when a substance is vitrified, or turned into glass through heating and rapid cooling. Scientists can vitrify substances in the lab. Substances can also be vitrified in nature — due to a lightning strike, for instance. Vitrify is related to vitreous, meaning “glassy.”

Definitions of vitrify

1. verb

   change into glass or a glass-like substance by applying heat
   type of:

   alter, change, modify

   cause to change; make different; cause a transformation
2. verb

   undergo vitrification; become glassy or glass-like
   type of:

   change

   undergo a change; become different in essence; losing one's or its original nature