🔬 A slide cover 📱 A screen protector

cover glass

4.8

A thin flat piece of glass placed over a specimen on a microscope slide

noun
/ˈkʌvər ɡlæs/

Specialized

: cubierta de vidrio

The technician carefully placed a cover glass over the sample before viewing it under the microscope.

Examples

Make sure the cover glass lies flat to prevent air bubbles from forming.
Make sure to clean the cover glass before use.
Accidentally dropping the cover glass can damage both the slide and the specimen.
The scientist placed a cover glass over the specimen.
The technician carefully placed a cover glass over the sample before viewing it under the microscope.
Make sure the cover glass lies flat to prevent air bubbles from forming.
Accidentally dropping the cover glass can damage both the slide and the specimen.

Synonyms

cover slip

vscover glass

Specialized

5.3

A small thin glass piece placed over a sample on a microscope slide to protect it and aid viewing

is used mainly to enable examination rather than emphasise protection

Surface Forms

cover glass singular

cover glasses plural

Morphology

cover + glass

The meaning 'a protective outer layer of glass' is directly and predictably derived from combining 'cover' (an object that protects) with 'glass' (the material), so a learner who knows both words can infer it is glass that covers and protects a device. This straightforward noun–noun composition follows regular English compounding patterns and is cross-linguistically common, making it immediately comprehensible to a B1 learner.

Etymology

Cover glass comes from the simple idea of placing a thin piece of glass to cover a specimen on a slide, keeping the sample flat and safe while you look at it under a microscope. That's why it means the small, flat glass used to protect and hold down a sample.