Meaning & use
cultured pearls
Last updated
Meaning
nounplural
Pearls produced by oysters or mussels when a small piece of shell or bead is put inside them by people.
Grammar: Always used in the plural for the category; a single one is 'a cultured pearl'.
Patterns
- a strand of cultured pearls
- cultured pearl necklace
- cultured pearls from Japan
She wore a simple strand of cultured pearls to the wedding.
Most pearls sold in jewelry shops today are cultured pearls.
Cultured pearls are usually more affordable than natural pearls.
Word forms
| singular | cultured pearl |
|---|
Common combinations
- strand of cultured pearls
- He gave her a strand of cultured pearls for their anniversary.
- cultured pearl necklace
- The auction featured a cultured pearl necklace from the 1920s.
- natural vs cultured pearls
- The appraiser explained the difference between natural and cultured pearls.
Synonyms and how they differ
- farmed pearls
- This is a less common but clear way to say the same thing; 'cultured pearls' is the standard term in the jewelry trade.
Opposites
Word family
Commonly confused: cultured pearls or natural pearls?
cultured pearls vs natural pearls
Natural pearls form without any human help and are much rarer and more expensive; cultured pearls are created with human intervention.
Practice
Most jewelry stores sell ______ pearls because natural ones are extremely rare.
Choose one answer.
'Cultured pearls' is the fixed phrase for pearls grown with human help. 'Cultural' relates to culture and does not describe pearls; 'cultivating' and 'cultivation' are verb and noun forms that do not fit before 'pearls'.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “cultured pearls”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.