Meaning & use
windscreen
Last updated
Meanings
nouncountableBritish
The large pane of glass at the front of a car or other vehicle that shields the driver and passengers from wind, rain and insects.
Grammar: Countable: the windscreen is cracked. Americans say windshield.
Patterns
- clean the windscreen
- a crack in the windscreen
A stone cracked the windscreen on the motorway.
He scraped the ice off the windscreen before work.
Rain streamed down the windscreen as the wipers swept back and forth.
nouncountableBritish
A small sheet of glass or plastic on a motorbike or boat that deflects wind from the rider.
Grammar: Countable, usually for smaller vehicles: a tinted windscreen.
Patterns
- fit a windscreen
The rider fitted a taller windscreen to his motorbike.
The boat's windscreen kept the spray off the passengers.
A small windscreen reduces the wind noise on long rides.
Word forms
| plural | windscreens |
|---|
Common combinations
- windscreen wipers
- The windscreen wipers squeaked on the dry glass.
- cracked windscreen
- A cracked windscreen can fail the inspection.
- windscreen washer
- Top up the windscreen washer with fluid.
- misted windscreen
- A misted windscreen made it hard to see.
- replace the windscreen
- The garage will replace the windscreen on Friday.
Synonyms and how they differ
- windshield
- Windshield is the American word for the same part, and the usual term in the US and Canada.
- screen
- Screen is a short colloquial form in British speech, but it can also mean a display or a partition.
- visor
- Visor means a shield worn on the face or helmet, which is not the main front glass of a vehicle.
Word family
- windshield noun
- the American word for windscreen
- wind noun
- moving air
- screen noun
- a shield or barrier
- rear windscreen noun
- the back window of a car
Commonly confused: windscreen or windshield? windscreen or window?
windscreen vs windshield
The two refer to the same thing, but windscreen is British and windshield is American.
windscreen vs window
A window can be any glass opening, while a windscreen is only the front glass of a vehicle.
Practice
A British driver would most likely say that a stone cracked the ____.
Choose one answer.
Windscreen is the British word for the front glass of a car. A windsock, windbreak and windpipe are unrelated things.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “windscreen”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.