CRYSTAL

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 Dictionary entry overview: What does crystal mean? 

• CRYSTAL (noun)
  The noun CRYSTAL has 6 senses:

1. a solid formed by the solidification of a chemical and having a highly regular atomic structure

2. a crystalline element used as a component in various electronic devices

3. a rock formed by the solidification of a substance; has regularly repeating internal structure; external plane faces

4. colorless glass made of almost pure silica

5. glassware made of quartz

6. a protective cover that protects the face of a watch

  Familiarity information: CRYSTAL used as a noun is common.

 Dictionary entry details 

• CRYSTAL (noun)

Sense 1

Meaning:

A solid formed by the solidification of a chemical and having a highly regular atomic structure

Classified under:

Nouns denoting substances

Hypernyms ("crystal" is a kind of...):

solid (matter that is solid at room temperature and pressure)

Hyponyms (each of the following is a kind of "crystal"):

flake; snowflake (a crystal of snow)

diamond dust; frost mist; frost snow; ice crystal; ice needle; poudrin; snow mist (small crystals of ice)

gem; gemstone; stone (a crystalline rock that can be cut and polished for jewelry)

twins ((mineralogy) two interwoven crystals that are mirror images on each other)

ice; water ice (water frozen in the solid state)

Derivation:

crystalize (assume crystalline form; become crystallized)

crystalize (cause to form crystals or assume crystalline form)

crystallize (assume crystalline form; become crystallized)

crystallize (cause to form crystals or assume crystalline form)

Sense 2

Meaning:

A crystalline element used as a component in various electronic devices

Classified under:

Nouns denoting man-made objects

Hypernyms ("crystal" is a kind of...):

component; constituent; element (an artifact that is one of the individual parts of which a composite entity is made up; especially a part that can be separated from or attached to a system)

Hyponyms (each of the following is a kind of "crystal"):

piezoelectric crystal (a crystal that can be used as a transducer)

Holonyms ("crystal" is a part of...):

crystal counter (a counter tube in which an ionizing event increases conductivity)

crystal detector (a detector consisting of a fine wire in contact with a galena crystal; acts as a rectifier)

crystal microphone; crystal mike (a microphone in which sound waves vibrate a piezoelectric crystal that generates a varying voltage)

crystal pickup (a cartridge in which an output voltage is produced by the vibration of a piezoelectric crystal)

Sense 3

Meaning:

A rock formed by the solidification of a substance; has regularly repeating internal structure; external plane faces

Classified under:

Nouns denoting natural objects (not man-made)

Synonyms:

crystal; crystallization

Hypernyms ("crystal" is a kind of...):

rock; stone (a lump or mass of hard consolidated mineral matter)

Hyponyms (each of the following is a kind of "crystal"):

crystallite (any of numerous minute rudimentary crystalline bodies of unknown composition found in glassy igneous rock)

Derivation:

crystalize (assume crystalline form; become crystallized)

crystalize (cause to form crystals or assume crystalline form)

Sense 4

Meaning:

Colorless glass made of almost pure silica

Classified under:

Nouns denoting substances

Synonyms:

crystal; lechatelierite; quartz; quartz glass; vitreous silica

Hypernyms ("crystal" is a kind of...):

natural glass (magma of any composition that cooled very rapidly)

Meronyms (substance of "crystal"):

silica; silicon dioxide; silicon oxide (a white or colorless vitreous insoluble solid (SiO2); various forms occur widely in the earth's crust as quartz or cristobalite or tridymite or lechatelierite)

Derivation:

crystalize (assume crystalline form; become crystallized)

crystalize (cause to form crystals or assume crystalline form)

crystallize (assume crystalline form; become crystallized)

crystallize (cause to form crystals or assume crystalline form)

Sense 5

Meaning:

Glassware made of quartz

Classified under:

Nouns denoting man-made objects

Hypernyms ("crystal" is a kind of...):

glassware; glasswork (an article of tableware made of glass)

Sense 6

Meaning:

A protective cover that protects the face of a watch

Classified under:

Nouns denoting man-made objects

Synonyms:

crystal; watch crystal; watch glass

Hypernyms ("crystal" is a kind of...):

protection; protective cover; protective covering (a covering that is intend to protect from damage or injury)

Holonyms ("crystal" is a part of...):

ticker; watch (a small portable timepiece)

 Context examples 

A measurement of the amorphous phosphate crystals in a biological specimen.

(Amorphous Phosphate Crystals Measurement, NCI Thesaurus/CDISC)

The determination of the amount of amorphous phosphate crystals present in a sample.

(Amorphous Phosphate Crystals Measurement, NCI Thesaurus)

A measurement of the amorphous (Note: phosphate or urate, depending on pH) crystals present in a biological specimen.

(Amorphous Crystal Measurement, NCI Thesaurus/CDISC)

The determination of the amount of amorphous urate crystals present in a sample.

(Amorphous Urate Crystals Measurement, NCI Thesaurus)

The determination of the amount of bilirubin crystals present in a sample.

(Bilirubin Crystal Measurement, NCI Thesaurus)

Osteoblasts mineralize bone matrix by promoting hydroxyapatite crystal formation and growth in the interior of membrane-limited matrix vesicles (MVs) and by propagating the crystals onto the collagenous extracellular matrix.

(Bone Mineralization Regulation Pathway, NCI Thesaurus/BIOCARTA)

A measurement of the bilirubin crystals present in a biological specimen.

(Bilirubin Crystal Measurement, NCI Thesaurus/CDISC)

The determination of the amount of amorphous crystals present in a sample.

(Amorphous Crystal Measurement, NCI Thesaurus)

A measurement of the ammonium biurate crystals present in a biological specimen.

(Ammonium Biurate Crystals Measurement, NCI Thesaurus/CDISC)

To calculate how long the magma was stored at this boundary area, the researchers used a volcanic mineral known as spinel like a tiny stopwatch or crystal clock.

(‘Crystal clocks’ used to time magma storage before volcanic eruptions, University of Cambridge)