Meaning & use
mother-of-pearl
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Meaning
noununcountable
The smooth, shiny inner layer of some shells, used to make buttons, jewelry, and decorative objects.
Grammar: Uncountable: you say 'a piece of mother-of-pearl', not 'a mother-of-pearl'.
Patterns
- made of mother-of-pearl
- a mother-of-pearl button
The jewelry box was decorated with mother-of-pearl.
She wore a necklace made of mother-of-pearl that shimmered in the light.
The old piano keys were covered in mother-of-pearl.
Common combinations
- mother-of-pearl button
- The shirt had small mother-of-pearl buttons.
- mother-of-pearl inlay
- The table featured mother-of-pearl inlay in a floral pattern.
- mother-of-pearl jewelry
- She collects mother-of-pearl jewelry from different countries.
- a piece of mother-of-pearl
- He carved a small bird from a piece of mother-of-pearl.
Synonyms and how they differ
- nacre
- Nacre is the scientific term for the same substance; mother-of-pearl is the everyday word.
Commonly confused: mother-of-pearl or pearl?
mother-of-pearl vs pearl
A pearl is a small, round, shiny object formed inside a shell; mother-of-pearl is the flat, shiny lining of the shell itself.
Practice
The shiny inner layer of a shell used for buttons is called:
Choose one answer.
Mother-of-pearl is the iridescent lining of a shell. A pearl is a separate round gem formed inside the shell; coral and amber are different materials.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “mother-of-pearl”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.