pyrex

P3Y4R1E1X8

noun

A kind of heat-resistant borosilicate glass, made by mixing a high concentration of boron oxides into the molten glass to reduce its thermal expansion coefficient.

Less commonScrabble 17
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Meanings

pyrex1

nounpyrex (uncountable)
  1. uncountableA kind of heat-resistant borosilicate glass, made by mixing a high concentration of boron oxides into the molten glass to reduce its thermal expansion coefficient.

    There is half of a yesteryear's tin of baked beans in a pyrex bowl

    2007, Jane Gardam, The Queen of the Tambourine
    2 more examples

    This steel tube slips into the pyrex glass focus tube, which is jacketed by a vacuum

    1993, George Samuel Schuyler with Robert A. Hill and R. Kent Rasmussen, Black Empire, page 53

    I tiptoed into the kitchen, turned on the fluorescent light over the stove, and peered into the oven. It was still warm, though the gas had been turned off. My dinner was there, in a pyrex dish with a cover.

    2010, Ross Macdonald, The Ferguson Affair
  2. broadlyuncountableAny borosilicate glass.
  3. broadlyuncountableAny glass capable of withstanding high temperatures, such as tempered glass suitable for cooking.

Pyrex2

proper noun
  1. A brand of glassware produced by the Corning corporation, capable of resisting high temperatures, and suitable for cooking applications, currently made with tempered glass.
  2. historicalA brand of glassware produced by Corning using borosilicate glass.
nounPyrex (uncountable)
  1. alternativeuncountableAlternative form of pyrex.

Origin

pyrex · noun

Genericized trademark from Pyrex.

Full word history & related roots →

Pyrex · proper noun, noun

From pie + r + -ex. First manufactured by the Corning Glassware Factory in 1915. * 1957, Letter from the Corning Glassware Factory: *: "We had a number of prior trademarks ending in the letters ex. One of the first commercial products to be sold under the new mark was a pie plate, and in the interests of euphonism the letter "r" was inserted between pie and ex, and the whole thing condensed to pyrex." * By surface analysis, the name also suggests pyr- (“fire”) + rex (“king”), thus connoting superior performance at high temperatures; in this regard, compare also the name of a major competing brand, Fire-King. Corning itself has acknowledged that this surface analysis has been noticed by many people but maintains that it was not in fact the way that the name was coined. However, this surface analysis has salutary effects for a brand name because it inevitably has influenced the positive connotations of the name for many customers who were unaware of the true etymology.

Full word history & related roots →

Translations

Arabic بيركس
  • بيركسheat-resistant borosilicate glass
Bulgarian пирекс
  • пирекс (pireks)heat-resistant borosilicate glass
Czech pyrex
  • pyrexheat-resistant borosilicate glass
Danish pyrex
  • pyrexheat-resistant borosilicate glass
Dutch pyrex
  • pyrexheat-resistant borosilicate glass
Finnish pyrex
  • pyrexheat-resistant borosilicate glass
French pyrex
  • pyrexheat-resistant borosilicate glass
German pyrex
  • pyrexheat-resistant borosilicate glass
Hungarian pyrex
  • pyrexheat-resistant borosilicate glass
Italian pyrex
  • pyrexheat-resistant borosilicate glass
Norwegian pyrex
  • pyrexheat-resistant borosilicate glass
Polish pyrex
  • pyrexheat-resistant borosilicate glass
Portuguese pirex
  • pirexheat-resistant borosilicate glass
Romanian pirex
  • pirexheat-resistant borosilicate glass
Russian пирекс
  • пирекс (pireks)heat-resistant borosilicate glass
Slovak pyrex
  • pyrexheat-resistant borosilicate glass
Spanish pyrex, pírex
  • pyrexheat-resistant borosilicate glass
  • pírexheat-resistant borosilicate glass
  • vidrio pírexheat-resistant borosilicate glass
Swedish pyrex
  • pyrexheat-resistant borosilicate glass
Turkish payreks
  • payreksheat-resistant borosilicate glass

Rhymes & wordplay

Anagrams

prexy
Cite this entry
APA

pyrex. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 3, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/pyrex

MLA

“pyrex.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/pyrex. Accessed November 3, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “pyrex,” accessed November 3, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/pyrex.

Source: pyrex on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.