Gloss as slang is used in a few different communities with meanings that build on its literal sense of shine or explanatory cover. In general youth and beauty slang, gloss is often short for lip gloss and used as a verb meaning to make something shiny or polished. For example, glossed up can mean dressed up with shiny hair, lips, and skin. In social media beauty culture, gloss refers to the glossy girl aesthetic of looking dewy and expensive. In a more figurative and critical sense, gloss as slang means to cover up, sugarcoat, or spin something to make it look better than it is, from the phrase gloss over. For example, if someone says stop glossing the situation, they mean stop trying to make a bad situation look good or stop hiding flaws. In workplace slang, glossing can mean adding positive spin to bad news in reports. In some British slang, gloss can refer to a glossy magazine. In printing and photography, gloss is not slang but technical shorthand for glossy paper. In hip-hop and fashion slang, gloss can also mean flashy or showy shine, similar to bling. Overall, slang uses of gloss center on ideas of shine, polish, hype, or covering up imperfections with a shiny surface.
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