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to pearl

to pearl

8.7
To dive into the sea and take jewels from oysters
  • verb
  • /pɜrl/
translation icon : recolectar perlas
  • He spent the summer learning how to pearl by diving for oysters along the coast.

Examples

  • The old fisherman taught his grandson to pearl in the shallow waters where they often found treasures.

  • After years of practice, she became skilled enough to pearl in deeper waters without fear.

  • When my banjo flashed mother-of-pearl their way, they made the split-finger sign to ward off the evil eye.

    Fiction book (1998)

Compounds

91 3.7

A harbor in Hawaii where a United States navy base was attacked by Japan in 1941

A smooth shiny layer inside some shells that shows rainbow colours and is used for decoration

A short, wise piece of advice that helps you

1 3.2

A small round onion with a mild sweet taste used whole in cooking

pearl-clutching
  • Offensive
1 9.9

An exaggerated show of shock or moral anger about something seen as wrong

1 6.4

A person who dives underwater to collect pearls from oysters

1 3.0

A pale grey color with a soft, shiny look

seed pearl
  • Specialized
1 6.5

A very small imperfect round bead made by an oyster and used in jewelry

A high cloud that looks shiny with rainbow colors around sunrise or after sunset

A place where people collect oysters to get small round shiny things from the sea

9.0

Small round pieces of corn made by grinding kernels, used for cooking

A tall grass grown for grain used for food, animal feed and making beer

pearl ash
  • Archaic
9.9

A white powder made from wood ashes that people used long ago for baking and soap making

Small round white grains of barley with outer layers removed for cooking

A shellfish that lives in the sea and makes pearls

Small round grains made from tropical plant starch used in desserts

pearl-clutcher
  • Offensive
9.9

A person who is easily shocked and loudly says things are wrong

Being easily shocked and disapproving of things other people find normal

A smooth, shiny surface that glows softly in light

A low-growing plant with small white round flowers like pearls

Surface Forms

pearl infinitive
pearled past
pearled past participle
pearling present participle
pearls third person singular

Etymology

Pearl as a verb meaning to gather pearls comes from the noun pearl. It simply means to collect those round gems from oysters, which is why people say they 'pearl' when they dive for pearls.