Meaning & use
onyx
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Meanings
noununcountable
A hard semi-precious stone made of layered bands of chalcedony, most often sold in black or dark polished form for jewelry and carvings.
Grammar: Usually uncountable as a material: a ring of onyx; a piece of onyx.
Patterns
- onyx and something
- carved from onyx
She wore a ring set with a smooth black onyx.
The bathroom counter is polished onyx with thin white veins.
He carved a small chess piece from a block of onyx.
noununcountable
A deep, glossy black color, or something with that color.
Grammar: Often used as a color name, sometimes before another noun: onyx hair, an onyx finish.
The cat's coat was a perfect onyx.
The car is available in pearl white or onyx.
Word forms
| plural | onyxes |
|---|
Common combinations
- black onyx
- The earrings are made of black onyx and silver.
- polished onyx
- A polished onyx table stood in the hall.
- onyx ring
- He never took off his onyx ring.
- onyx eyes
- The portrait showed a woman with dark, onyx eyes.
- banded onyx
- The museum displays banded onyx from several countries.
Synonyms and how they differ
- jet
- Jet is a black fossil wood used in jewelry, so it is lighter and warmer than onyx and never shows bands.
- obsidian
- Obsidian is volcanic glass, so it breaks with sharp edges and does not form layered stripes like onyx.
- ebony
- Ebony is a dark wood, so it suits furniture and color descriptions better than a hard stone.
Word family
- onyx-black adjective
- as black as the stone
- sardonyx noun
- a related banded gem with reddish layers
- agate noun
- a related banded stone often with curved layers
Commonly confused: onyx or opal?
onyx vs opal
Opal is a different gem that shows shifting colors; onyx is layered, hard and usually plain dark.
Practice
Which description best fits onyx in a jeweler's window?
Choose one answer.
Onyx is a hard layered stone, commonly polished black. It is not a metal, liquid or soluble crystal.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “onyx”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.