crystal: Meaning and Definition of

crys•tal

Pronunciation: (kris'tl), [key]
— n., adj., v., -taled, -tal•ing -talled, -tal•ling.
—n.
  1. a clear, transparent mineral or glass resembling ice.
  2. the transparent form of crystallized quartz.
  3. a solid body having a characteristic internal structure and enclosed by symmetrically arranged plane surfaces, intersecting at definite and characteristic angles.
  4. anything made of or resembling such a substance.
  5. a single grain or mass of a crystalline substance.
  6. glass of fine quality and a high degree of brilliance.
  7. articles, esp. glassware for the table and ornamental objects, made of such a glass.
  8. the glass or plastic cover over the face of a watch.
    1. the piece of germanium, silicon, galena, or the like forming the essential part of a crystal detector.
    2. the crystal detector itself.
  9. a quartz crystal ground in the shape of a rectangular parallelepiped, which vibrates strongly at one frequency when electric voltages of that frequency are placed across opposite sides: used to control the frequency of an oscillatoras of a radio transmitter.
  10. any stimulant drug in powder form, as methamphetamine or PCP.
—adj.
  1. composed of crystal.
  2. resembling crystal; clear; transparent.
  3. pertaining to or employing a crystal detector.
  4. indicating the fifteenth event of a series, as a wedding anniversary. See table under
—v.t.
  1. to make into crystal; crystallize.
  2. to cover or coat with, or as if with, crystal (usually fol. by over).

Crys•tal

Pronunciation: (kris'tl), [key]
— n.
  1. a city in SE Minnesota, near Minneapolis. 25,543.
  2. a female given name.
Random House Unabridged Dictionary, Copyright © 1997, by Random House, Inc., on Infoplease.
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