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# opal

noun (an opal, opals; opal as a material)

«opal» in the English dictionary: everyday — its meanings, how the lessons use it, and examples, each with its tree on Mova.

## Everyday

1. An opal is a precious stone that shows flashing rainbow colours when you move it in the light. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/O/opal/#m1)
2. Opal is the material itself, a kind of hardened silica that contains water. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/O/opal/#m2)
3. Opal is also a milky, pale colour. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/O/opal/#m3)

### In the lessons

In science lessons on rocks and minerals it is an example of a gemstone; Australia produces most of the world's opal, and Coober Pedy is a famous opal-mining town where people live underground. In stories an opal is a treasure. Phrases: «an opal ring», «black opal», «opal mine».

### Examples

- Nan has an opal ring that sparkles blue and green. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/O/opal/#x1)
- Most of the world's opals come from Australia. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/O/opal/#x2)
- In Coober Pedy, miners dig for opal and some families live in underground houses. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/O/opal/#x3)
- The black opal is Australia's national gemstone. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/O/opal/#x4)
- When I tilted the opal, colours flashed like a tiny rainbow. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/O/opal/#x5)
- Opals contain water, so they can crack if they dry out. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/O/opal/#x6)
- The bathroom glass had a milky opal colour. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/O/opal/#x7)
- It is more precious than emeralds, and dearer than fine opals. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/O/opal/#x8)

### Note

Countable for a stone (an opal, opals), uncountable for the material (made of opal). Use «an» because it starts with a vowel sound. Opal is the birthstone of October in many lists.

## On Mova

- [Trees and pragmatics of «opal» in the school dictionary](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/O/opal/): every meaning and example parsed by Mova, with its dependency tree and frames.
- [«opal» in the school dictionary](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/dictionaries/school/w/opal.html) on Mova free.