a smooth, rounded bead formed within the shells of certain mollusks and composed of the mineral aragonite or calcite in a matrix, deposited in concentric layers as a protective coating around an irritating foreign object: valued as a gem when lustrous and finely colored.
something resembling a bead formed in the shells of certain mollusks, such as various synthetic substances for use in costume jewelry.
The pearls on this rosary are made of glass and protected by silver-plated double filigree caps.
something similar in form, luster, etc., to a bead formed in the shells of certain mollusks, such as a dewdrop or a capsule of medicine.
She wiped the pearls of sweat from her forehead.
something precious or choice; the finest example of anything.
An older couple offered us some pearls of wisdom about keeping a marriage healthy.
The pearl of the museum's collection is one of Van Gogh's paintings, but there are many other things worth seeing.
a very pale gray approaching white but commonly with a bluish tinge.
We wanted to paint the walls eggshell at first, but we ultimately decided on a cooler color and went with pearl.
mother-of-pearl (usually used in combination).
His collection includes a beautiful antique pearl-handled revolver.
Printing. a 5-point type.
Also called epithelial pearl. Pathology. a rounded mass of keratin occurring in certain carcinomas of the skin.
to adorn or stud with or as if with pearls.
The crown, newly pearled and gilded, shone in the candlelight.
to make like pearls, as in form or color.
Opalescent discs of abalone shell caught the light and pearled it back in many colors.
to dive, fish, or search for mollusks that produce beads within their shells.
While pearling near the coast, they discovered the remains of a centuries-old shipwreck.
to assume a pearllike form or appearance.
A tear pearled on her lashes.
resembling the gemstone produced by certain mollusks in form or color.
The dress is a lovely pearl gray.
of or relating to pearls.
If you really want to splurge, book a trip to go pearl diving in French Polynesia.
An eco-friendly pearl farming industry could decrease heavy metals in the water and bring economic benefits to this region.
set with a pearl or pearls, or covered or inlaid with pearls or mother-of-pearl.
She wore a navy blue suit and a pearl necklace.
having or reduced to small, rounded grains.
Pearl millet is a common crop of the region.
cast pearls before swine, to offer or give something of great value to those incapable of appreciating it.
She read them Shakespeare but it was casting pearls before swine.
pearls in your oysters, good luck to you (often used when parting or in thanks).
Well, I've got to go now—pearls in your oysters.
a town in central Mississippi.
a female given name.
a hard smooth lustrous typically rounded structure occurring on the inner surface of the shell of a clam or oyster: consists of calcium carbonate secreted in layers around an invading particle such as a sand grain; much valued as a gem
any artificial gem resembling this
See mother-of-pearl
a person or thing that is like a pearl, esp in beauty or value
a pale greyish-white colour, often with a bluish tinge
a size of printer's type, approximately equal to 5 point
of, made of, or set with pearl or mother-of-pearl
having the shape or colour of a pearl
(tr) to set with or as if with pearls
to shape into or assume a pearl-like form or colour
(intr) to dive or search for pearls
What does pearl mean? A pearl is a smooth, rounded bead formed inside the shells of certain mollusks, such as clams and oysters. Pearls are known for being used in jewelry, such as pearl necklaces and pearl earrings. Pearls vary in size and color. They are most commonly an iridescent, milky white, but they can be several other colors, including gray and even black. Although pearls are not stones, the pearl is one of the birthstones for the month of June, along with moonstone and alexandrite. It is associated with the zodiac signs Gemini and Cancer. The word pearl is sometimes used figuratively to refer to something precious or to the finest example of something, such as in the phrase pearls of wisdom. Pearl can also be a girl’s name. Example: My grandmother left me her pearl necklace, and I always wear it on special occasions.
First recorded in 1300–50; Middle English perle, from Middle French, from Italian or assumed Vulgar Latin perla (unrecorded), from Latin pernula (unrecorded), from pern(a) “sea mussel,” also “ham, thigh” (compare Old English fiersn, Greek ptérnē, Sanskrit pā́rṣṇi “heel”) + -ula, feminine of -ulus -ule ( def. )
A pearl is a white, round gem formed inside an oyster or clam. Pearl can also refer to something that resembles the gem in color or shape, like a pearl of sweat that forms on your forehead when you're hot. Why is a pearl called a pearl? It isn't clear where the Medieval Latin word perla comes from. Some believe it refers to the shape of the shell in which pearls are found: either pear, like the shapely fruit, or perna, literally "ham," because the shell is shaped like a pig's leg.
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Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
We were dressed in our rancho libertarian best: jeans, embroidered leather belts, pearl snap shirts.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 3, 2026
She then recalls a woman from the agency wearing a white coat, a stethoscope and a pearl necklace appearing and taking her daughter.
From BBC ● Sep. 18, 2026
The name "Pearl Sweet" is a reference to Uganda's nickname as the "pearl of Africa" and the oil's low sulphur content.
From Barron's ● Sep. 2, 2026
The sailors and pearl divers of the Indian Ocean had intimate understandings of shallow reefs—“vernacular knowledge”—that often aided British endeavors to draw maps and document marine life.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 6, 2026
She has wide eyes, runny mascara, and wears a pearl choker that looks like it might actually be choking her.
From "Challenger Deep" by Neal Shusterman
Start with a stroll along downtown’s Pearl Street.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 27, 2026
At Casa Juani, also on Pearl Street, the briny razor clams bring a taste of Spain to the Rockies.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 27, 2026
And then there’s Pearl, a former nurse Tan had diagnosed, three years earlier, with mild cognitive impairment.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 23, 2026
His son, Wall Street Journal reporter Daniel Pearl, was killed in Pakistan in 2002.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 18, 2026
“Anybody here gigging Aunt Fanny’s frogs? Pearl, have you been gigging Aunt Fanny’s frogs?”
From "The Teacher’s Funeral" by Richard Peck
When cholesterol had been removed beforehand, some structural changes still occurred, but the pearls remained smaller than those in untreated cells, and the same significant slowing was not detected.
From Science Daily ● Sep. 17, 2026
Now, two years later, Harry Styles walks onto that same floor in pearls and a feather boa, singing about tenderness and change and wanting.
From Salon ● Sep. 6, 2026
He debuted the offbeat experimental musical in fishnets and pearls in 1973 on the tiny stage upstairs at the Royal Court Theater in London, where it first became an underground sensation.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 26, 2026
Dolly Parton, the much-loved US singer-songwriter who has died at the age of 80, was known for her pearls of wisdom and humour as well as her music.
From BBC ● Aug. 26, 2026
My pearls, my belts, my cardigans, my off-the-rack dresses from J.Crew, my apparently brave choice of white for an inaugural gown—all seemed to trigger a slew of opinions and instant feedback.
From "Becoming" by Michelle Obama
This altered the pearled structure in both the models and mouse neurons and reduced the speed of electrical signaling.
From Science Daily ● Sep. 17, 2026
It “may very well be” that this pearled shape is the normal state of axons, he says, but more research is needed to come to a definitive answer.
From Science Magazine ● Dec. 2, 2024
I got more crystals that I could attach to the pearled bib.
From Los Angeles Times ● Feb. 28, 2023
Others are sequined, feathered, fringed, beaded, buttoned, ruched and pearled.
From New York Times ● Aug. 12, 2021
The dragonflies’ wings were pearled with mist, like cobwebs, and from time to time they’d beat them quickly to clear them, because the drops must make them heavy, Lyra thought.
From "The Amber Spyglass" by Philip Pullman
Instead, it pointed to a form of nanoscale pearling that may be part of the normal architecture of the axons studied.
From Science Daily ● Sep. 17, 2026
Along the warm, brackish waters of the Persian Gulf, drilling rigs now overlook old pearling grounds.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 6, 2026
In the late 19th century, Tamara Surani Fernando notes in “Shallow Blue Empire,” this problem of yield confronted the British, who oversaw the trade of three important pearling sites in the Indian Ocean.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 6, 2026
"Since Margaret Reed Lewis first sketched mitochondrial pearling in 1915, it has largely been dismissed as an anomaly linked to cellular stress," says Landoni.
From Science Daily ● Apr. 13, 2026
The horde of people working about the pearling fleet, amphibious by nature, have little need for those accommodations and necessities which the commercial world call "landing facilities."
From East of Suez Ceylon, India, China and Japan by Frederic Courtland Penfield
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
