• 1mass noun A fine white or translucent vitrified ceramic material.

  a plate made of china

  Also called porcelain

  as modifier a china cup

  Example sentencesExamples

  • Stuffed rabbits, glass, china, wooden, ceramic, you name it… I've got it in a rabbit.
  • Stuffing, cranberry sauce, gravy, potatoes and vegetables had covered the white linen cloth and fine china plates sat, waiting to be filled with food.
  • Home to cultural and architectural wonders and famous for its fine white china, the German city of Dresden still shone despite six years of war.
  • On May 1 a pair of 19th century ceramic candle-stick figurines and 10 china and earthenware mugs were stolen from the Hearth Gallery.
  • Does he serve this meal on the finest china plates available for purchase?
  • Tamara cut out a muffin for herself and placed it on the white china plate.
  • The cup was white china with red and yellow roses on one side, with a floral motif trim around the outside rim.
  • This is a coast of colours, of thumping aquamarine swells, fat red grapes and sands as fine and white as Meissen china.
  • Fine china pots and carafes can be found to make any dinner party a success.
  • Linda watched Karen as she sat her new doll carefully on a tree stump and placed tiny china plates, cups and saucers before it.
  • A white china sink and ceramic hob complement the crisp clean lines.
  • There's also a red goblet, a white china cup brimming with coffee, a plate of French chocolate cookies and a peeled tangerine.
  • The unusually fine clay yielded a porcelain china that was translucent with a glass-like finish.
  • Along a wall, at perhaps crotch height, are what first appear to be five broken and re-made blue and white china plates.
  • Gackt smiled as he sipped his tea from a little blue and white china cup.
  • Harel heard her sigh and looked at her poking her food on the fine china plate with the silver cutlery.
  • Lady Holland dies as she is sipping tea from her fine china cup in her elegant little parlor.
  • But you're here for Christmas shopping so just pick up a few fine china rice bowls and serving dishes.

  1. 1.1 Household tableware or other objects made from china or a similar material.
     she had begun to remove the breakfast china

     Example sentencesExamples

     • The tables were immaculately laid with fine silverware and Wedgwood china.
     • The breakfast table was already set with our nicest blue china which Madison's parents had given to us when we first moved into our house.
     • We have crystal vases, china, every remaining piece of our everyday dishes, footed cake trays, ice cream makers, hand blenders, and a food processor.
     • The table is set with a crisp white tablecloth, fine china and wine glasses.
     • Chipped china, broken furniture and left over jumble sale items are also consigned to the rubbish tip.
     • All have been produced on ceramic tile, fine china and glass.
     • Silver candelabras glowed every few feet, throwing a romantic air over the ornate silverware and fine blue and white china.
     • We settled in at a cosy table set with fine china and featuring a ceramic piggy bank centerpiece.
     • Ceramic designer Emma Bridgewater has regular sales in schools and village halls where you can snap up seconds, over-runs and samples of kitchenware, china, textiles and glass.
     • They've bagged much-coveted trophies like china, silver flatware and crystal from the first class dining area.
     • Knives, forks, spoons, pots and pieces of china littered the kitchen.
     • There was a loud crash of breaking china in the kitchen.
     • In fact, she has not turned a dollar since November 1969, apart from auctions of her furnishings, china, glassware, and tableware.
     • White candles and roses were perfectly placed along the fireplace mantel and down the center of the long table which was set with the finest white china I had ever seen.
     • It is industry policy not to place clean china, flatware, or glassware on the floor.
     • Now, if you are looking for white linen tablecloths and lavish meals served on fine china, you won't find it in discount business class.
     • On the table were two place settings of china, candles in crystal holders, champagne glasses and an ice bucket with a bottle of champagne in it.
     • Over the pop of champagne, the clink of glasses raised in cheer, the clatter of china in the kitchen, one can almost hear conversation and laughter throughout these pages.
     • Never use any abrasive powder for any other reason on china; it may remove metallic or other decorations.
     • With Christmas only a few weeks away, customers of the Main Street Store can check out the wide selection of gifts, china, household and curtains now located on the ground floor.

     Synonyms

     porcelain

     dishes, plates, cups and saucers, crockery, dinner service, tea service

     tableware, ware

     North American dinnerware

     Irish delph

• 2British informal A friend.

  Example sentencesExamples

  • Keep doing that chinas, and this just might be precisely the case!

  Synonyms

  companion, boon companion, bosom friend, best friend, close friend, intimate, confidante, confidant, familiar, soul mate, alter ego, second self, shadow, playmate, playfellow, classmate, schoolmate, workmate, ally, comrade, associate

• A country in East Asia, the fourth largest and most populous in the world; population 1,376,000,000 (estimated 2015); language, Chinese (of which Mandarin is the official form); capital, Beijing.

  Official name People's Republic of China

Chinese civilization stretches back until at least the 3rd millennium BC, the country being ruled by a series of dynasties until the Qing (or Manchu) dynasty was overthrown by Sun Yat-sen in 1911; China was proclaimed a republic the following year. After the Second World War the Kuomintang government of Chiang Kai-shek was overthrown by the communists under Mao Zedong, the People's Republic of China being declared in 1949. Market-oriented reforms were introduced in the last quarter of the twentieth century