diamond

[ dahy-muhnd, dahy-uh- ]

See synonyms for diamond on Thesaurus.com

noun

a pure or nearly pure, extremely hard form of carbon, naturally crystallized in the isometric system.
a piece of this stone.

a transparent, flawless or almost flawless piece of this stone, especially when cut and polished, valued as a precious gem.
a ring or other piece of jewelry containing such a precious stone, especially an engagement ring.
a piece of this stone used in a drill or cutting tool.
a tool provided with such an uncut stone, used for cutting glass.
crystallized carbon, or a piece of it, artificially produced.
an equilateral quadrilateral, especially as placed with its diagonals vertical and horizontal; a lozenge or rhombus.
any rhombus-shaped figure or object oriented with its diagonals vertical and horizontal.
a red rhombus-shaped figure on a playing card.
a card of the suit bearing such figures.
diamonds, (used with a singular or plural verb) the suit so marked: Diamonds is trump. Diamonds are trump.
Baseball.
- the space enclosed by home plate and the three bases; infield.
- the entire playing field.
Printing. a 4½-point type of a size between brilliant and pearl.

adjective

made of or set with a diamond or diamonds.
having the shape of a diamond: a dress with a diamond print.

indicating the 75th, or sometimes the 60th, event of a series, as a wedding anniversary.

verb (used with object)

to adorn with or as if with diamonds.

Idioms about diamond

diamond in the rough, a person of fine character but lacking refined manners or graces.

Origin of diamond

1275–1325; Middle English diamant<Old French <Vulgar Latin *diamant-, stem of *diamas, perhaps alteration of *adimas (>French aimant magnet, Old Provençal aziman diamond, magnet), for Latin adamasadamant, diamond

Other words from diamond

dia·mond·like, adjective

Other definitions for Diamond (2 of 2)

Diamond

[ dahy-muhnd, dahy-uh- ]

noun

Neil, born 1941, U.S. singer and songwriter.
Cape, a hill in Canada, in S Quebec, on the St. Lawrence River.

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

How to use diamond in a sentence

She jumped bail to Canada, with more than $1 million in cash and diamonds, and settled in Hamilton, Ontario.
Meet 'The Queen of Thieves' Marm Mandelbaum, New York City's First Mob Boss | J. North Conway | September 7, 2014 | THE DAILY BEAST
“They call me Ma because I give them money and horses and diamonds,” Mandelbaum reportedly said.
Meet 'The Queen of Thieves' Marm Mandelbaum, New York City's First Mob Boss | J. North Conway | September 7, 2014 | THE DAILY BEAST
Walter Jon Williams, the popular cyberpunk author, had me at “You can make diamonds out of tequila.”
Inside George R.R. Martin’s New Book (Mild Buzzkill: Only One Story is Martin’s) | William O’Connor | June 17, 2014 | THE DAILY BEAST
The Kimberley Process for tracking conflict diamonds officially suspended CAR one year ago.
The Curse of CAR: Warlords, Blood Diamonds, and Dead Elephants | Christopher Day | May 25, 2014 | THE DAILY BEAST
The tangle of enormous fake diamonds resting on top of her cleavage sparkles at every flashbulb.
And The Escort of The Year Is… Backstage at The Sex Oscars | Scott Bixby | March 24, 2014 | THE DAILY BEAST

Only the petrol tins they took for water right and left of their pathway up the cliff; huge diamonds in the evening sun.
Gallipoli Diary, Volume I | Ian Hamilton
Half-fed men would dig for diamonds, and men sheltered by a crazy roof erect the marble walls of palaces.
The Unsolved Riddle of Social Justice | Stephen Leacock
Round her neck depended from a black velvet band, strings of diamonds of great size and magnificence.
Music-Study in Germany | Amy Fay
Many of these testimonials of friendship and regard were of gold and silver, and set with diamonds of the finest water.
Tobacco; Its History, Varieties, Culture, Manufacture and Commerce | E. R. Billings.
Wonderful pendants of crystallised lime reached down from the lofty roof, shining like diamonds.
Alila, Our Little Philippine Cousin | Mary Hazelton Wade

British Dictionary definitions for diamond

diamond

/ (ˈdaɪəmənd) /

noun

- a colourless exceptionally hard mineral (but often tinted yellow, orange, blue, brown, or black by impurities), found in certain igneous rocks (esp the kimberlites of South Africa). It is used as a gemstone, as an abrasive, and on the working edges of cutting tools. Composition: carbon. Formula: C. Crystal structure: cubic
- (as modifier): a diamond ring Related adjective: diamantine
geometry
- a figure having four sides of equal length forming two acute angles and two obtuse angles; rhombus
- (modifier) rhombic

- a red lozenge-shaped symbol on a playing card
- a card with one or more of these symbols or (when plural) the suit of cards so marked
baseball
- the whole playing field
- the square formed by the four bases
(formerly) a size of printer's type approximately equal to 4 1/2 point
black diamond a figurative name for coal
rough diamond
- an unpolished diamond
- a person of fine character who lacks refinement and polish

verb

(tr) to decorate with or as with diamonds

Origin of diamond

C13: from Old French diamant, from Medieval Latin diamas, modification of Latin adamas the hardest iron or steel, diamond; see adamant

Derived forms of diamond

diamond-like, adjective

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Scientific definitions for diamond

diamond

[ dī′ə-mənd ]

A form of pure carbon that occurs naturally as a clear, cubic crystal and is the hardest of all known minerals. It often occurs as octahedrons with rounded edges and curved surfaces. Diamond forms under conditions of extreme temperature and pressure and is most commonly found in volcanic breccias and in alluvial deposits. Poorly formed diamonds are used in abrasives and in industrial cutting tools.

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