windscreen

IPA/ˈwɪndskriːn/
IPA/ˈwɪndskriːn/

windscreen — noun

  • windscreensingular
  • windscreensplural

1. A protective glass panel fitted across a car's front end, letting the driver see

1.nounB1
Definition

A protective glass panel fitted across a car's front end, letting the driver see the road while blocking wind, rain, and small stones.

Example

A stone hit Brian's windscreen on the motorway and left a small crack.

collocation: cracked windscreen

Élise scraped the frost off her windscreen on a cold winter morning.

Common collocations
  • cracked windscreen
  • chip in the windscreen
  • windscreen glass
  • replace the windscreen
  • windscreen repair kit
Synonyms
  • windshield

    American English equivalent; learners sitting a British English exam should use 'windscreen'

  • front window

    less technical term used in everyday speech

Usage Note

This is the British English term. In American English, the same car part is called a 'windshield'. Frequent in compound nouns: 'windscreen wiper', 'windscreen washer'.

Common Mistakes

I need to replace my windshield.' (in a British English context)
I need to replace my windscreen.
'windshield' is the American term; 'windscreen' is the British term.
The windscreen viper needs new blades.
The windscreen wiper needs new blades.
'viper' is a snake; the rubber blade that cleans the glass is a 'wiper'.

2. A line of tall plants, a wall, or a fence placed in a position that stops the wi

2.nounB2
Definition

A line of tall plants, a wall, or a fence placed in a position that stops the wind from reaching a particular area, such as a garden or a field.

Example

The tall hedge acted as a windscreen, blocking the sea wind from the garden.

pattern: act as a windscreen

Farmers often plant trees as a windscreen to protect their crops from the wind.

Common collocations
  • as a windscreen
  • natural windscreen
  • hedge as a windscreen
  • plant a windscreen
Synonyms
  • windbreak

    more common term in both British and American English for this meaning

  • shelter belt

    technical term used in agriculture and forestry

Usage Note

This sense is less common than sense 1 and typically appears in the phrase 'as a windscreen'. The compound noun 'windbreak' is more frequent for this meaning in both British and American English.

Common Mistakes

We built a windscreen to block the neighbour's view.
We built a windscreen to protect the plants from the wind.
'windscreen' in this sense blocks wind, not sight. For blocking sight, use 'screen' or 'privacy fence'.

Word family

  • windshield
    nounB1
  • windscreen wiper
    nounB1
  • windbreak
    nounB2

Synonym discussion

Sense: noun/1

All three terms refer to the front window of a vehicle, but they differ by region and register. 'Windscreen' is the standard British English term, used in the UK, Ireland, Australia, and New Zealand. 'Windshield' is the American English equivalent, used in the US and Canada. Learners preparing for a British English exam (IELTS, Cambridge) should use 'windscreen'. 'Front window' is a non-technical phrase that can refer to any front-facing window of a building or vehicle; it is not specific to cars. For example: 'The stone hit the windscreen of the car.' (BrE) vs. 'The stone hit the windshield of the car.' (AmE). If you say 'the front window of the car', it is understood but sounds less natural to native speakers.

windscreen ↗windshield ↗front window

Common collocations

Nouns

  • windscreen wiper
  • windscreen washer
  • windscreen glass
  • windscreen repair

Phrases

  • chip in the windscreen
  • crack in the windscreen
  • act as a windscreen
  • serve as a windscreen

Prepositions

  • across the windscreen
  • on the windscreen
  • through the windscreen
  • against the windscreen

Etymology

Old EnglishOld North FrenchEnglish

'Windscreen' is a compound of two English words: 'wind' (moving air, from Old English 'wind') and 'screen' (something that protects or hides, from Old North French 'escran'). The word was first used around 1900, when early motor cars began to fit a glass panel at the front to shield the driver from the wind, dust, and insects. Before that, the same word was occasionally used for cloth or wooden shelters against the wind in outdoor settings, which became the modern sense 2.

First known use

1671

1671, in the meaning defined at sense 1