pearl oyster

American  

noun

1. any of several marine bivalve mollusks of the family Pteriidae, some of which form pearls of great value, inhabiting waters of eastern Asia and off the coasts of Panama and Baja California.

---

pearl oyster British  

noun

1. any of various tropical marine bivalves of the genus Pinctada and related genera: a major source of pearls

---

Etymology

Origin of pearl oyster

First recorded in 1685–95

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

pearl oyster

The milky-white pearl oyster mushrooms growing inside a stainless-steel refrigerator at UC Riverside’s Plant Transformation Research Center illustrate what else can be done with that acetate.

From Science Magazine ● Jun. 7, 2023

A one-shouldered dress included crystals, silver beads and pearl oyster mushroom embroidery on an invisible tulle base.

From Seattle Times ● Mar. 15, 2022

Vacationers are offered educational boat rides through the fierce ocean currents that swirl above the pearl oyster banks.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Nov. 12, 2016

Grow pearl oyster mushrooms indoors or upgrade to a variety pack.

From Washington Post

The Chinese especially are adepts at placing certain small bodies, specially prepared, in the shells of the pearl oyster, which, after a short time, becomes coated with mother-of-pearl, or nacre.

From Narrative of the Circumnavigation of the Globe by the Austrian Frigate Novara, Volume I (Commodore B. Von Wullerstorf-Urbair,) Undertaken by Order of the Imperial Government in the Years 1857, 1858, & 1859, Under the Immediate Auspices of His I. and R. Highness the Archduke Ferdinand Maximilian, Commander-In-Chief of the Austrian Navy. by Scherzer, Karl Ritter von