A pearl is a hard round object which is shiny and usually creamy-white in colour. Pearls grow inside the shell of an oyster and are used for making expensive jewellery.
She wore a string of pearls at her throat.
I put on the pearl earrings Daddy had bought me.
2. See also mother-of-pearl
3. adjective [usually ADJECTIVE noun]
Pearl is used to describe something which looks like a pearl.
...tiny pearl buttons.
4.
See to cast pearls before swine
5.
See pearls of wisdom
pearl in British English1
(pɜːl)
noun
1.
a hard smooth lustrous typically rounded structure occurring on the inner surface of the shell of a clam or oyster: consists of calcium carbonate secreted in layers around an invading particle such as a sand grain; much valued as a gem
▶ Related adjectives: margaric, margaritic
2.
any artificial gem resembling this
3. mother-of-pearl
4.
a person or thing that is like a pearl, esp in beauty or value
5.
a pale greyish-white colour, often with a bluish tinge
6.
a size of printer's type, approximately equal to 5 point
adjective
7.
of, made of, or set with pearl or mother-of-pearl
8.
having the shape or colour of a pearl
verb
9. (transitive)
to set with or as if with pearls
10.
to shape into or assume a pearl-like form or colour
11. (intransitive)
to dive or search for pearls
Word origin
C14: from Old French, from Vulgar Latin pernula (unattested), from Latin perna sea mussel
pearl in British English2
(pɜːl)
noun, verb
a variant spelling of purl1 (sense 2), purl1 (sense 3), purl1 (sense 5)
Pearl in American English1
(pɜrl)
noun
a feminine name
Word origin
< pearl1
Pearl in American English2
(pɜrl)
1.
river in central Miss., flowing south into the Gulf of Mexico: 490 mi (789 km)
2.
Zhu
Word origin
(sense 1) named for pearls found there
pearl in American English1
(pɜrl)
noun
1.
a smooth, hard, usually white or bluish-gray body of varied but usually roundish shape that is an abnormal nacreous growth within the shell of some oysters and certain other bivalve mollusks and forms around a grain of sand, a parasite, or some other foreign object: it is used as a gem
2.
mother-of-pearl
3.
any person or thing regarded as like a pearl in some way, as in size, shape, color, beauty, value, etc.
4.
the color of some pearls, a bluish gray
verb transitive
5.
to adorn or cover with pearls or pearl-like drops
6.
to make like a pearl in shape
verb intransitive
7.
to fish for pearl-bearing mollusks, esp. oysters
adjective
8.
of or having pearls
9.
like a pearl in shape or color
10.
made of mother-of-pearl
pearl buttons
Idioms:
cast pearls before swine
Derived forms
pearler (ˈpearler)
noun
Word origin
ME perle < MFr < VL *perla, *perula, altered (? after L sphaerula, spherule) < L perna, a sea mussel, lit., a ham: from the shape of its peduncle
pearl in American English2
(pɜrl)
verb transitive, verb intransitive, noun
Obsolete
purl2
Examples of 'pearl' in a sentence
pearl
Place the pearl barley into a medium pot, cover with 500ml of mushroom stock and bring to the boil.
Times, Sunday Times (2016)
Place the pearl barley into a medium pot, cover with 500ml of mushroom stock and bringto the boil.
Times, Sunday Times (2016)
She ripped a string of pearls from her neck.
Times, Sunday Times (2008)
Spare me the geek squad and their pearls of wisdom.
The Sun (2014)
Pearl spelt looks rather like pearl barley and can be used in similar ways.
Times, Sunday Times (2010)
Her skin was as white as pearl and very soft.
Carlos Acosta No Way Home: A Cuban Dancer's Tale (2007)
He held up a string of large irregular pearls the size of broad beans.
Times, Sunday Times (2008)
Her pearls of wisdom are hilarious and she utterly lacks rhythm.
The Sun (2006)
But the best dish turned out to be the vegetarian option of pearl barley with wild mushrooms.
Times, Sunday Times (2012)
She was dressed in a beautiful white dress, and had pearls around her throat.
Frances Hodgson Burnett Little Lord Fauntleroy (1886)
Tour of the factory making famous artificial pearls, followed by the tempting shop.
Collins Traveller - Mallorca
The pearl oyster has a wonderful muscle in it, similar to a scallop.
Times, Sunday Times (2014)
Nor is it just things that are white: pearls are wintry.
Times, Sunday Times (2015)
As an accessory to his uniform, he affected around his neck a string of pearls.
Max Hastings Nemesis: The Battle for Japan, 194445 (2007)
Hardly pearls discharged by oysters, but rather those who choose to find something that fits them better.
Times, Sunday Times (2010)
I could almost see the pearls around his neck.
Times, Sunday Times (2009)
I can expect to get about 20 or more pearls in each shell.
Times, Sunday Times (2008)
It is the world's third-largest well formed pearl.
Times, Sunday Times (2013)
You can get a bracelet of pearls for as little as 15, she tells me.
Times, Sunday Times (2013)
But then I got a slight pain under my arm and they found a lump the size of a pearl.
The Sun (2007)
The flesh is too full of grit, often in the form of tiny pearls, to use.
Times, Sunday Times (2009)
Word lists with
pearl
black
In other languages
pearl
British English: pearl /pɜːl/ NOUN
A pearl is a hard, shiny, white, ball-shaped object which grows inside the shell of an oyster. Pearls are used for making jewellery.
...a string of pearls.
American English: pearl
Arabic: لُؤلُؤةٌ
Brazilian Portuguese: pérola
Chinese: 珍珠
Croatian: biser
Czech: perla
Danish: perle
Dutch: parel
European Spanish: perla
Finnish: helmi
French: perle mollusque
German: Perle
Greek: μαργαριτάρι
Italian: perla
Japanese: 真珠
Korean: 진주
Norwegian: perle ekte perle
Polish: perła
European Portuguese: pérola
Romanian: perlă
Russian: жемчужина
Latin American Spanish: perla
Swedish: pärla
Thai: ไข่มุก
Turkish: inci
Ukrainian: перлина
Vietnamese: ngọc trai
British English: pearl ADJECTIVE
Pearl is used to describe something which looks like a pearl.