1. a device for measuring time consisting of two glass bulbs connected by a narrow neck, with sand flowing from the upper bulb to the lower one

Examples

• The old sandglass on the mantel took exactly one hour for all the sand to fall through.
• She turned the sandglass over to time her meditation session.
• The antique sandglass was filled with fine white sand.
• Pirates in movies often used a sandglass to measure time at sea.
• The teacher used a small sandglass to time the students’ presentations.
• Before clocks became common, people relied on sandglasses to track time.