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• ivory
  ivory

  noun

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

  noun

  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)

ivory

American  

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

noun

• ivories
  plural

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  

/ 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 ² British  

/ ˈaɪvərɪ, -vrɪ /

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 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

Derived Forms

• ivory-like
  adjective
• ivorylike
  adjective

Inflected Forms

Nouns

• ivories
  plural

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”; see -eous

Explanation

Ivory is a hard, white substance found in the tusks of animals such as elephants. Ivory also refers to a white-ish color, like the ivory keys on a piano. One of the most prized animal products is ivory, which comes from the tusks of elephants and walruses. Ivory — which is extremely hard dentine — is used in many objects, especially expensive, decorative ones such as statues. Unfortunately, the elephant population is endangered due to hunting elephants for their ivory, so this pretty substance comes at a high price. Ivory is also the name of a color that is close to the shade of bleached bones or pearl.

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

ivory Ivory ivories

They sold gold, ivory and ultimately enslaved Africans, often those captured in local conflicts, in exchange for the manufactured goods brought mainly by the British and Dutch, including textiles, alcohol and guns.

From BBC ● Aug. 16, 2026

Ed Miliband, now Britain’s foreign secretary, praised Hobsbawm for bringing “history out of the ivory tower and into people’s lives.”

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 14, 2026

The head is brown to black and has several ivory to yellowish spots, which helps separate it from its native counterpart, the smoke-tree sharpshooter.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 11, 2026

Despite their evolutionary distance, the team discovered that both butterflies and moths repeatedly relied on the same two genes, ivory and optix, to produce nearly identical warning colors.

From Science Daily ● May 4, 2026

I thought of telling him about the perfectly carved ivory, but I didn’t do that either.

From "Silent To The Bone" by E.L. Konigsburg

After he graduated, Smith moved into a big red barn on a compound in Upstate New York, which he rented from film director James Ivory.

From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 10, 2026

In Ivory Coast, reducing the "significant weight" of the informal sector with notably the creation of a status for small entrepreneurs is one pillar of an ambitious national development plan, unveiled in July.

From Barron's ● Sep. 9, 2026

Their natural range includes Ghana and the Ivory Coast, where the animals are threatened by both habitat destruction and poaching.

From Science Daily ● Sep. 8, 2026

Over the last year, Uber has also pulled out of Ivory Coast and Tanzania.

From BBC ● Sep. 2, 2026

They lay two days in port at Berila, the City of Ivory, white above its bay in the west of myth-haunted Enlad.

From "A Wizard of Earthsea" by Ursula K. Le Guin

“Diana” precedes an extraordinary gathering of elaborate furniture, once in Versailles; tapestries; and improbably opulent 18th-century French silver—plus a wealth of medieval ivories.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 26, 2026

This is not a concert in which the lead singer will occasionally tinkle the ivories for effect.

From Salon ● Jun. 24, 2025

Established in 1957 – three years before independence - the museum houses objects from across the country, including Ife bronze and terracotta heads, Benin brass plaques and ivories, and Ibibio masks and costumes.

From BBC ● Sep. 21, 2024

David Foster tickled the ivories with a medley of his own greatest hits — including his Whitney Houston showstopper “I Have Nothing” from “The Bodyguard,” Oscar-nominated for best song in 1993.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jan. 13, 2023

They played music: Elizebeth on the ivories, William on the violin.

From "The Woman All Spies Fear" by Amy Butler Greenfield