crystal set

American  

noun

1. an early, tubeless radio receiver using a crystal detector.

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crystal set British  

noun

1. an early form of radio receiver having a crystal detector to demodulate the radio signals but no amplifier, therefore requiring earphones

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Example Sentences

Contrast a pretty, flowing dress with edgier accessories, such as these spiky bursts of crystal set in rose gold.

From Seattle Times • Apr. 10, 2018

Radios are unavailable, but, when his landlady’s son makes a crystal set, they pick up mysterious broadcasts.

From The Guardian • Aug. 27, 2017

Mr. Happel first created a prototype of the pattern with each crystal set by hand.

From New York Times • May 10, 2012

Every so often a dental patient reports that a tooth has turned into a radio receiver, that one of his fillings is acting like an old-fashioned crystal set.

From Time Magazine Archive

Esteban Trueba spent many hours with him, first in front of the crystal set, and then, with the battery-operated radio, awaiting the miracle of the distant, anonymous voice that gave them contact with civilization.

From "The House of the Spirits: A Novel" by Isabel Allende