Main definitions of gild in English

: gild¹ gild²

gild¹

verb

[WITH OBJECT]

Cover thinly with gold.
‘in 1436 he gilded and painted statues for Bruges Town Hall’
figurative ‘the first rays of the sun were gilding the grassy hillside’
- ‘The photographs also record, albeit subtly, the wear that evidences the many people who have gathered together under these gilded ceilings.’
- ‘Elaborately carved woodwork and paneling called boiseries, often gilded or spiced with gold leaf, replaced solid wood trim.’
- ‘If ever a palace came close to encapsulating what they describe in the fairy tales, this would be it, all spires, towers, and gilded gates.’
- ‘While most were of a standard alloy of leaded bronze some were gilded or made in gold or silver.’
- ‘After the castings were attached, the entire frame was gilded in antique gold.’
- ‘The hand-carved and gilded wooden models, which fill the room, give expression to extravagant architectural dreams that could never have been built.’
- ‘The sun rose gracefully, and gilded the glorious Welsh hillsides with soft light.’
- ‘The objects were carefully arranged in groups in carved and gilded wooden cabinets.’
- ‘The sun lanced through the overcast veil of blizzard-clouds and snow-squalls and gilded the twin vessels in shining gold.’
- ‘On a gray ground, molded and gilded leaf-and-flower motifs cover the nearly flat bottom of the body.’
- ‘The porcelain handles, which curve to enclose florets, are gilded to imitate gilt bronze.’
- ‘Most were gilded, although painted faux-marble frames are also found.’
- ‘The entrance is shaded by several painted and gilded roofs supported by marble columns.’
- ‘The walls were light pink and the ceiling was gilded.’
- ‘The doors were ornately carved and gilded with glistening gold.’
- ‘Gold and silver medals must be made of 92.5 percent pure silver; the gold medal must be gilded with at least six grams of gold.’
- ‘There was a great white and gold fireplace and even a little gilded coffee table with a silver tea set sitting quaintly in the centre of the room.’
- ‘Almost everything was gilded in gold, and the room seemed to sparkle.’
- ‘They came to it rather quickly, the largest building in the village that was covered in jewels and gilded with gold.’
- ‘They crept out of the city under the oppressive darkness, and were on the slave roads once more by the time the sun burned through the dry clouds and gilded the plains.’
cover with gold, paint gold, lacquer gold, inlay with gold
gold-covered, gold-painted, gold-lacquered, gold-inlaid
View synonyms

Phrases

gild the lily

Try to improve what is already beautiful or excellent.
- ‘But all of them simply gild the lily.’
- ‘‘Today we were magnificent,’ said O'Neill. somewhat gilding the lily.’
- ‘If you want to gild the lily, scatter over grated cheddar cheese and return to oven until oozy and golden brown.’
- ‘I like his playing, and he is a fine musician, but sometimes it feels like he is gilding the lily in these performances.’
- ‘I will not gild the lily; I will say exactly what happened.’
- ‘But I'm not gilding the lily, I truly thought it was impossible, and I refused to address myself emotionally.’
- ‘It is not necessary to gild the lily by over ornate presentation.’
- ‘Yes, the producers gild the lily when they claim to be ‘now, for the first time’ revealing things about the five leaders being examined.’
- ‘I feel that commenting on this response would be gilding the lily.’
- ‘They believe they are right, and have never gilded the lily.’