PEARL

Pronunciation (US):

(GB):

IPA (US):

 Dictionary entry overview: What does pearl mean? 

• PEARL (noun)
  The noun PEARL has 3 senses:

1. a smooth lustrous round structure inside the shell of a clam or oyster; much valued as a jewel

2. a shade of white the color of bleached bones

3. a shape that is spherical and small

  Familiarity information: PEARL used as a noun is uncommon.

• PEARL (verb)
  The verb PEARL has 1 sense:

1. gather pearls, from oysters in the ocean

  Familiarity information: PEARL used as a verb is very rare.

 Dictionary entry details 

• PEARL (noun)

Sense 1

Meaning:

A smooth lustrous round structure inside the shell of a clam or oyster; much valued as a jewel

Classified under:

Nouns denoting possession and transfer of possession

Hypernyms ("pearl" is a kind of...):

gem; jewel; precious stone (a precious or semiprecious stone incorporated into a piece of jewelry)

Hyponyms (each of the following is a kind of "pearl"):

seed pearl (a small imperfect pearl)

Derivation:

pearl (gather pearls, from oysters in the ocean)

Sense 2

Meaning:

A shade of white the color of bleached bones

Classified under:

Nouns denoting attributes of people and objects

Synonyms:

bone; ivory; off-white; pearl

Hypernyms ("pearl" is a kind of...):

white; whiteness (the quality or state of the achromatic color of greatest lightness (bearing the least resemblance to black))

Derivation:

pearly (of a white the color of pearls)

Sense 3

Meaning:

A shape that is spherical and small

Classified under:

Nouns denoting two and three dimensional shapes

Synonyms:

bead; drop; pearl

Context example:

beads of sweat on his forehead

Hypernyms ("pearl" is a kind of...):

sphere (a solid figure bounded by a spherical surface (including the space it encloses))

Hyponyms (each of the following is a kind of "pearl"):

dewdrop (a drop of dew)

teardrop (anything shaped like a falling drop (as a pendant gem on an earring))

• PEARL (verb)

Present simple: I / you / we / they pearl    ... he / she / it pearls   
Past simple: pearled   
Past participle: pearled   
-ing form: pearling   

Sense 1

Meaning:

Gather pearls, from oysters in the ocean

Classified under:

Verbs of touching, hitting, tying, digging

Hypernyms (to "pearl" is one way to...):

collect; garner; gather; pull together (assemble or get together)

Sentence frames:

Somebody ----s
Somebody ----s PP

Sentence example:

In the summer they like to go out and pearl

Derivation:

pearl (a smooth lustrous round structure inside the shell of a clam or oyster; much valued as a jewel)

pearler (a diver who searches for molluscs containing pearls)

 Context examples 

A variant of cervical squamous cell carcinoma characterized by the presence of keratin pearls.

(Cervical Keratinizing Squamous Cell Carcinoma, NCI Thesaurus)

Ah, that wonderful Madam Mina, he said, pearl among women!

(Dracula, by Bram Stoker)

If she is, you will desire to have a pearl of such price found and taken care of.

(David Copperfield, by Charles Dickens)

There only remained a single bust—the Reading one—and the pearl must be there.

(The Return of Sherlock Holmes, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle)

It may be as small as a grain of sand or as large as a pearl.

(Kidney Stones, NIH: National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases)

And I see very few pearls in the room except mine.

(Emma, by Jane Austen)

Gretel emptied her pinafore until pearls and precious stones ran about the room, and Hansel threw one handful after another out of his pocket to add to them.

(Fairy Tales, by The Brothers Grimm)

A Russian prince condescended to sit in a corner for an hour and talk with a massive lady, dressed like Hamlet's mother in black velvet with a pearl bridle under her chin.

(Little Women, by Louisa May Alcott)

Her black satin dress, her scarf of rich foreign lace, and her pearl ornaments, pleased me better than the rainbow radiance of the titled dame.

(Jane Eyre, by Charlotte Brontë)

Intercellular bridges and cytoplasmic keratinization may be present, but keratin pearls are absent.

(Cervical Non-Keratinizing Squamous Cell Carcinoma, NCI Thesaurus)