diamonds

Meanings

1. 1nounplural

   One of the four suits in a deck of playing cards, marked with a red diamond shape.

   Grammar: Always used in the plural when referring to the suit. For a single card, say 'the ace of diamonds' or 'a diamond'.

   Patterns

   • the queen of diamonds
   • play diamonds
   • bid diamonds

   In bridge, hearts and diamonds are the red suits.

   She played the king of diamonds to win the trick.

   He had only two diamonds left in his hand.

2. 2nounplural

   Precious clear stones, or jewelry made with them.

   Grammar: The singular 'diamond' is used for one stone or for the material; the plural 'diamonds' refers to multiple stones or pieces of jewelry.

   Patterns

   • a pair of diamonds
   • diamonds and pearls
   • set with diamonds

   The necklace was set with dozens of sparkling diamonds.

   She wore diamonds in her ears for the party.

   The thieves stole diamonds worth millions.

3. 3nounplural

   The red diamond-shaped symbol on playing cards or in card games.

   Grammar: Often used when talking about the symbols on the cards themselves, not the suit as a whole.

   Patterns

   • the diamonds on the card
   • a row of diamonds

   The card had three diamonds printed in the corner.

   He pointed to the diamonds on the seven of diamonds.

Common combinations

the ace of diamonds

He drew the ace of diamonds and smiled.

a suit of diamonds

In this game, a suit of diamonds beats a suit of clubs.

diamonds are forever

She joked that diamonds are forever, but her patience is not.

a diamond ring

He gave her a diamond ring for their anniversary.

a diamond in the rough

The young player is a diamond in the rough; he needs coaching.

Synonyms and how they differ

gems

Use 'gems' for any precious stones, not just diamonds; 'diamonds' is specific to that type of stone.

jewels

'Jewels' can mean valuable stones or jewelry in general, while 'diamonds' refers only to the specific clear stones.

Word family

diamond noun

The singular form, meaning one stone or the suit as a whole.

diamond adjective

Used before a noun to describe something made with diamonds, as in 'diamond necklace'.

Commonly confused: diamonds or diamond?

Practice

Make it your own

Write a sentence using “diamonds”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.

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