ivory

American  

[ahy-vuh-ree, ahy-vree] / ˈaɪ və ri, ˈaɪ vri /

noun

plural

ivories

1. the hard white substance, a variety of dentin, composing the main part of the tusks of elephants, walruses, etc.

2. this substance when taken from a dead animal and used to make carvings, billiard balls, etc.

3. some substance resembling this.

4. an article made of this substance, as a carving or a billiard ball.

5. a tusk, as of an elephant.

6. dentin of any kind.

7. Slang. a tooth, or the teeth.

8. Slang. ivories,

   1. the keys of a piano or of a similar keyboard instrument.

   2. dice.

9. Also called vegetable ivory.  the hard endosperm of the ivory nut, used for ornamental purposes, for buttons, etc.

10. a creamy or yellowish white.

11. a smooth paper finish produced by coating with beeswax before calendering.

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adjective

1. consisting or made of ivory.

2. of the color ivory.

ivory ¹ British  

/ -vrɪ, ˈaɪvərɪ /

noun

1. 1. a hard smooth creamy white variety of dentine that makes up a major part of the tusks of elephants, walruses, and similar animals

   2. ( as modifier )

      ivory ornaments

2. a tusk made of ivory

3. 1. a yellowish-white colour; cream

   2. ( as adjective )

      ivory shoes

4. a substance resembling elephant tusk

5. an ornament, etc, made of ivory

6. obsolete Black slaves collectively

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Ivory ² British  

/ ˈaɪvərɪ /

noun

1. James. born 1928, US film director. With the producer Ismael Merchant, his films include Shakespeare Wallah (1964), Heat and Dust (1983), A Room With a View (1986), and The Golden Bowl (2000)

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ivory Scientific  

/ ī′və-rē /

1. The hard, smooth, yellowish-white substance forming the teeth and tusks of certain animals, such as the tusks of elephants and walruses and the teeth of certain whales. Ivory is composed of dentin.

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Other Word Forms

• ivory-like adjective
• ivorylike adjective

Etymology

Origin of ivory

First recorded in 1250–1300; Middle English, from Old French ivurie, from Latin eboreus, noun use of neuter adjective, equivalent to ebor- (stem of ebur ) “ivory” + -eus adjective suffix; compare Egyptian ab, abu, Coptic eb, ebu “ivory, elephant,” Sanskrit íbhaḥ “elephant”; -eous

Example Sentences

Like: George Washington really did have false teeth, but they weren’t wood, as many people believed, but gold, ivory, and even other human teeth.

From Literature

“I use these examples to show my team that we can’t be ivory tower operators.”

From The Wall Street Journal

On Thursday, detectives announced they have made their first arrest in relation to incident, which saw military memorabilia, jewellery, natural history pieces and carved ivory, bronze and silver figurines taken.

From BBC

The discoveries included a silver, gold and garnet bird's-head terminal with elephant ivory inlays, possibly from a drinking-horn, several gold rings, and other metal objects.

From BBC

A massive Ruhlmann sideboard, first made in 1920, is inlaid with an ivory marquetry pattern that suggests—to me, least—soap bubbles.

From The Wall Street Journal