Meaning & use
crystal
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Meanings
nouncountable
A solid whose atoms are lined up in a regular repeating pattern, often forming a piece with flat, shiny sides.
Grammar: Has a plural: one crystal, many crystals.
Patterns
- a crystal of something
- crystals of something
Under the microscope, each salt crystal looked like a tiny perfect cube.
The geologist found a cave lined with purple quartz crystals.
Ice crystals formed on the window overnight.
noununcountable
Very clear, heavy glass of high quality, or objects such as glasses and bowls made from it.
Grammar: Used without an or a plural when it means the material: a set of fine crystal.
Patterns
- made of crystal
- a crystal something
Grandmother only used the crystal when guests came for dinner.
The chandelier is made of hand-cut crystal.
He gave them a crystal vase as a wedding present.
nouncountablespecialist
The clear glass or plastic cover over the face of a watch or clock.
Grammar: Usually refers to the part on a watch: the crystal cracked.
Patterns
- a watch crystal
The jeweler replaced the scratched crystal on my watch.
A sapphire crystal resists scratches better than ordinary glass.
Water got in through a crack in the crystal.
Word forms
| plural | crystals |
|---|
Common combinations
- quartz crystal
- The old radio contained a small quartz crystal.
- ice crystal
- Tiny ice crystals sparkled in the morning air.
- salt crystal
- A single salt crystal dissolved on her tongue.
- crystal clear
- The water in the lake was crystal clear.
- crystal glass
- She poured the wine into a crystal glass.
- liquid crystal
- Most flat screens use a liquid crystal display.
Synonyms and how they differ
- gem
- A gem is a cut and polished stone valued for beauty, whereas a crystal may be raw and have no jewelry value.
- mineral
- Mineral names a kind of natural substance, while crystal names the actual regularly shaped piece or the form it takes.
- cut glass
- Cut glass is decorated by grinding patterns into ordinary glass, while crystal refers to the heavier, clearer material itself.
Word family
- crystalline adjective
- made of crystals, or very clear like a crystal
- crystallize verb
- to form crystals, or to become clear and definite
- crystallization noun
- the process of forming crystals
- crystallography noun
- the science of studying crystal structure
Commonly confused: crystal or christen?
crystal vs christen
Christen sounds a little like the start of crystal but means to name or baptize; the two share no meaning.
Practice
Which sentence uses crystal to mean a high-quality clear glass?
Choose one answer.
Only the third sentence uses crystal as a glassware material. The watch cover, sugar and amethyst options refer to other senses.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “crystal”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.