hard mass

American  

Or hard masse

noun

1. Jewelry. a hard glass used for imitating gemstones.

2. (not in technical use)

   1. any glass for imitating gemstones, especially emerald.

   2. any of certain synthetic gemstones.

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Example Sentences

The magma then cooled relatively quickly to form granite, and the surrounding rock eroded away, “leaving just the very resistant hard mass of Ailsa Craig poking up out of the water,” Faithfull says.

From Scientific American • Feb. 8, 2014

The difference between a star and the hard mass of a rock.

From Salon • Jan. 6, 2014

In fact, getting in and out of Red Hook without a car or a bike can be hard: mass transit is limited to the water taxi, the B-61 bus and the Ikea shuttle.

From New York Times • Mar. 16, 2012

Working over several dry seasons, Ruz and a gang of laborers slowly cleared away the hard mass of stone and clay that blocked the passageway.

From Time Magazine Archive

He described it as an eroded, hard mass about the size of a nickel.

From "The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks" by Rebecca Skloot