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• coral
  coral

  noun

  the hard, variously colored, calcareous skeleton secreted by certain marine polyps.
• Coral
  Coral

  noun

  a female given name.

coral

¹ American  

[kawr-uhl, kor-] / ˈkɔr əl, ˈkɒr- /

noun

• corals
  plural

1. the hard, variously colored, calcareous skeleton secreted by certain marine polyps.

2. such skeletons collectively, forming reefs, islands, etc.

3. the solitary or colonial polyp that secretes this calcareous skeleton.

4. a reddish yellow; light yellowish red; pinkish yellow.

5. the unimpregnated roe or eggs of the lobster that when boiled take on the color of red coral.

6. something made of coral, as an ornament, piece of jewelry, or a child's toy.

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adjective

1. made of coral.

   a coral reef; coral ornamentation.

2. making coral.

   a coral polyp.

3. resembling coral, especially in color; yellowish-red.

Coral ² American  

[kawr-uhl, kor-] / ˈkɔr əl, ˈkɒr- /

noun

1. a female given name.

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coral British  

/ ˈkɒrəl /

noun

1. any marine mostly colonial coelenterate of the class Anthozoa having a calcareous, horny, or soft skeleton See also stony coral sea fan

2. 1. the calcareous or horny material forming the skeleton of certain of these animals

   2. ( as modifier ) See also red coral

      a coral reef

3. 1. a rocklike aggregation of certain of these animals or their skeletons, forming an island or reef

   2. ( as modifier )

      a coral island

4. 1. an object made of coral, esp a piece of jewellery

   2. ( as modifier )

      a coral necklace

5. 1. a deep-pink to yellowish-pink colour

   2. ( as adjective )

      coral lipstick

6. the roe of a lobster or crab, which becomes pink when cooked

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coral Scientific  

/ kôr′əl /

1. Any of numerous small, sedentary cnidarians (coelenterates) of the class Anthozoa. Corals often form massive colonies in shallow sea water and secrete a cup-shaped skeleton of calcium carbonate, which they can retreat into when in danger. Corals are related to the sea anemones and have stinging tentacles around the mouth opening that are used to catch prey.

2. A hard, stony substance consisting of the skeletons of these animals. It is typically white, pink, or reddish and can form large reefs that support an abundance of ocean fish.

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Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• corallike
  adjective

Inflected Forms

Nouns

• corals
  plural

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Etymology

Origin of coral

First recorded in 1275–1325; Middle English coral(l), from Latin corāll(i)um, from Greek korā́llion “red coral,” equivalent to korall- (from Semitic; compare Hebrew gōrāl “pebble”) + -ion diminutive suffix

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Explanation

Coral is a marine polyp with a calcareous skeleton that lives in colonies. You probably last saw coral while scuba diving at the Great Barrier Reef. That or while looking at the coral necklaces in the beach shop. Though coral looks like stone with little holes, it is actually a kind of sea polyp with a stony, hole filled skeleton. Sometimes the word coral refers to the skeleton itself. Because of the red color of Mediterranean coral, coral is also an adjective meaning pink-red. Shakespeare wrote: “My mistress' eyes are nothing like the sun; Coral is far more “red than her lips' red.” Coral can also be a noun for unfertilized lobster eggs that turn red when cooking.

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

coral Coral corals

Marine scientist David Obura said the exceptional El Nino pattern building strength in the tropical Pacific could drive vulnerable coral species even closer toward extinction.

From Barron's ● Oct. 15, 2026

Since then, global ocean temperatures have soared to unprecedented highs and the worst coral bleaching episode on record between 2023 and 2025 caused widespread mortality across reefs.

From Barron's ● Oct. 15, 2026

But her plane vanished without a trace while trying to reach Howland Island, a remote, uninhabited coral island near Nikumaroro, to refuel.

From BBC ● Oct. 10, 2026

As coral reefs struggle to survive, many sharks are losing their main food source, but humans are to blame for that one.

From Salon ● Oct. 9, 2026

The gardens were filled with coral and sea anemones.

From "The Mark of Athena" by Rick Riordan

Coral reef recovery is a highly active area of research, with efforts ranging from using artificial nurseries to rescue reefs to finding and cultivating more heat-tolerant species.

From Barron's ● Oct. 14, 2026

Coral gardens like this one are considered vulnerable marine ecosystems.

From Science Daily ● Oct. 8, 2026

They “aren’t necessarily more gullible than everyone else, but they can be unusually attractive targets,” says Charles Sachs, a financial planner with Imperio Wealth Advisors in Coral Gables, Fla.

From MarketWatch ● Sep. 18, 2026

Coral can live for decades or centuries, and they form a skeleton of calcium carbonate layers as they grow, kind of like rings on a tree.

From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 4, 2026

I had almost everything at this point: an envelope of money, phone numbers for two different taxi services—the Cairns Cab Company and the Coral Sea Coach shuttle service.

From "The Thing About Jellyfish" by Ali Benjamin

"The only corals we have here now are the ones who survived this 38, 39 degrees."

From Barron's ● Oct. 17, 2026

It had been decades since sharks last patrolled the reef off the coast of Fiji's Naidiri Village, but they returned this year following a community-led effort to protect the fishery and plant thousands of corals.

From Barron's ● Oct. 17, 2026

Bleached corals had been largely written off because of their high mortality rate, said Collins -- though the new work instead demonstrates they "really shouldn't be thought of as a lost cause."

From Barron's ● Oct. 14, 2026

A major limitation was that the process only worked when the two corals shared the same genetic background, or "genet."

From Barron's ● Oct. 14, 2026

But from afar, a galaxy reminds me more of a collection of lovely found objects—seashells, perhaps, or corals, the productions of Nature laboring for aeons in the cosmic ocean.

From "Cosmos" by Carl Sagan

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