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• crystal
  crystal

  noun

  a clear, transparent mineral or glass resembling ice.
• Crystal
  Crystal

  noun

  a city in SE Minnesota, near Minneapolis.

crystal

¹ American  

[kris-tl] / ˈkrɪs tl /

noun

• crystals
  plural

1. a clear, transparent mineral or glass resembling ice.

2. the transparent form of crystallized quartz.

3. Chemistry, Mineralogy. a solid body having a characteristic internal structure and enclosed by symmetrically arranged plane surfaces, intersecting at definite and characteristic angles.

4. anything made of or resembling such a substance.

5. a single grain or mass of a crystalline substance.

6. glass of fine quality and a high degree of brilliance.

7. articles, especially glassware for the table and ornamental objects, made of such a glass.

8. the glass or plastic cover over the face of a watch.

9. Radio.

   1. the piece of germanium, silicon, galena, or the like forming the essential part of a crystal detector.

   2. the crystal detector itself.

10. Electronics. a quartz crystal ground in the shape of a rectangular parallelepiped, which vibrates strongly at one frequency when electric voltages of that frequency are placed across opposite sides: used to control the frequency of an oscillator crystal oscillator, as of a radio transmitter.

11. Slang. any stimulant drug in powder form, as methamphetamine or PCP.

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adjective

1. composed of crystal.

2. resembling crystal; clear; transparent.

3. Radio. pertaining to or employing a crystal detector.

4. indicating the fifteenth event of a series, as a wedding anniversary.

verb (used with object)

crystaled, crystaling, crystalled, crystalling

1. to make into crystal; crystallize.

2. to cover or coat with, or as if with, crystal (usually followed byover ).

Crystal ² American  

[kris-tl] / ˈkrɪs tl /

noun

1. a city in SE Minnesota, near Minneapolis.

2. a female given name.

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crystal British  

/ ˈkrɪstəl /

noun

1. a piece of solid substance, such as quartz, with a regular shape in which plane faces intersect at definite angles, due to the regular internal structure of its atoms, ions, or molecules

2. a single grain of a crystalline substance

3. anything resembling a crystal, such as a piece of cut glass

4. 1. a highly transparent and brilliant type of glass, often used in cut-glass tableware, ornaments, etc

   2. ( as modifier )

      a crystal chandelier

5. something made of or resembling crystal

6. crystal glass articles collectively

7. electronics

   1. a crystalline element used in certain electronic devices as a detector, oscillator, transducer, etc

   2. ( as modifier )

      crystal pick-up

      crystal detector

8. a transparent cover for the face of a watch, usually of glass or plastic

9. (modifier) of or relating to a crystal or the regular atomic arrangement of crystals

   crystal structure

   crystal lattice

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adjective

1. resembling crystal; transparent

   crystal water

crystal Scientific  

/ krĭs′təl /

1. A homogenous solid formed by a repeating, three-dimensional pattern of atoms, ions, or molecules and having smooth external surfaces with characteristic angles between them. Crystals can occur in many sizes and shapes.

2. ◆ The particular arrangement in space of these atoms, molecules, or ions, and the way in which they are joined, is called a crystal lattice. There are seven crystal groups or systems. Each is defined on the basis of the geometrical arrangement of the crystal lattice.

3. 1. A natural or synthetic material, such as quartz or ceramic, that consists of such crystals. When subjected to mechanical stresses, crystalline materials can generate an electric charge or, when subjected to an electric field, they can generate mechanical vibrations in what is known as the piezoelectric effect.

   2. An electrical device, such as an oscillator or a diode used for detecting radio signals, made of such a material.

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crystal Cultural  

1. A material in which the atoms are arranged in a rigid geometrical structure (see geometry) marked by symmetry. Crystals often have clearly visible geometrical shapes.

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Discover More

Most minerals are crystalline structures.

Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• crystallike
  adjective
• uncrystaled
  adjective
• uncrystalled
  adjective

Inflected Forms

Nouns

• crystals
  plural

Etymology

Origin of crystal

First recorded before 1000; Middle English cristal(le), Old English cristalla, from Medieval Latin cristallum, Latin crystallum, from Greek krýstallos “clear ice, rock crystal,” derivative of krystaínein “to freeze”; akin to krȳmós “frost, cold” ( see crymotherapy), krýos “cold, frost” ( see cryo-)

Explanation

Various solid substances that glitter because their surfaces are made up of planes that catch the light are called crystals. If you leave your ice cream in the freezer too long, you may find a coating of ice crystals on top. Some people think that certain natural crystals — quartz, for instance — have mystical properties and if you wear them or hold them, they cure whatever’s wrong with you. Crystal is also the word for transparent glass made of silica, and it's also a name for fine glassware — the kind that reverberates with a nice ping when you flick your fingernail against it. Another kind of crystal is the glass cover that protects the face of your watch.

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

crystal Crystal crystals crystaled crystalled

District Judge Christopher R. Cooper’s ruling that the law “makes crystal clear that the Center is to be named for President Kennedy.”

From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 13, 2026

Scientists have studied it for decades because the crystal structure is created by interactions between the electrons themselves rather than by the underlying structure of the material containing them.

From Science Daily ● Aug. 12, 2026

Let’s be crystal clear: There’s no such thing.

From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 12, 2026

Their work explains how these quasiparticles arise through the coupling of optically generated excitons with the collective movement of electrons in the crystal.

From Science Daily ● Aug. 12, 2026

“Took you long enough,” Seed Collector said, holding the crystal fire above its head.

From "Healer of the Water Monster" by Brian Young

Manchester City, meanwhile, start with a home game against Bournemouth, before travelling to Crystal Palace, hosting Coventry, playing at rivals Manchester United and then facing Sunderland at home.

From BBC ● Aug. 16, 2026

Crystal Palace's 2025 scorers Jean-Philippe Mateta and Ismaila Sarr netted 37 goals between them last season.

From BBC ● Aug. 16, 2026

Villarreal: Were you on Cloud 9 getting the news of Crystal?

From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 13, 2026

That’s what helps it keep that same energy as me finding out I’m playing Crystal in “Hairspray” versus me finding out that I have an Emmy nomination.

From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 13, 2026

Badge in hand, Elsie moves nervously toward the Crystal Ball.

From "Amari and the Night Brothers" by B.B. Alston

She calls cows to breakfast with a holler, extemporizes on the Bible in full paragraphs and keeps a collection of high-vibration crystals.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 16, 2026

Indium-phosphide crystals are brittle and grown in small batches, and the industry is only now moving from three-inch to six-inch wafers, a step silicon took in the 1980s.

From MarketWatch ● Aug. 7, 2026

In that sense, photonic crystals control photons in a way that resembles how semiconductors control electrons.

From Science Daily ● Jul. 31, 2026

Photonic time crystals could ultimately change how light is used in technology, especially within the terahertz range.

From Science Daily ● Jul. 31, 2026

Fortunately, some air filtered through the tightly packed crystals.

From "Abel's Island" by William Steig

A shining god raised me, and bade my fears Be flown, and I beheld the glorious throne Of crystaled light; with rays by man unknown.

From Babylonian and Assyrian Literature by Anonymous

“The house was crystalled out,” she told Vogue, but she didn’t want visitors to think she was a “crystal person”.

From The Guardian ● Jun. 16, 2019

She imagined that across these richly carved entrance-ways, where the globed and crystalled lamps shone upon paneled doors set with stained and designed panes of glass, was neither care nor unsatisfied desire.

From Sister Carrie by Theodore Dreiser

Now I ascended, or again descended the dropping and crystalled rocks; now crept into openings, which suddenly terminated, and turning again, anxiously listened to the sound of the rippling water as my only guide.

From Wilson's Tales of the Borders and of Scotland Volume 13 by Various

Her eyes, her color, her smiles were radiance itself; her mobile lips curved over teeth as white and gleaming as crystalled snow.

From Laramie; or, The Queen of Bedlam. by Charles King

The frozen moisture of its breathing had settled on its fur in a fine powder of frost, and especially were its jowls, muzzle, and eyelashes whitened by its crystalled breath. 

From Lost Face by Jack London