corals

Noun

coral (countable and uncountable, plural corals)

1. (countable) Any of many species of marine invertebrates in the class Anthozoa, most of which build hard calcium carbonate skeletons and form colonies, or a colony belonging to one of those species.
2. (uncountable) A hard substance made of the skeletons of these organisms.
3. (countable) A somewhat yellowish orange-pink color; the color of red coral (Corallium rubrum) of the Mediterranean Sea, commonly used as an ornament or gem.
   • The coral faded even from her lips, till they were as white as Leo's face, and quivered pitifully.1886 October – 1887 January, H[enry] Rider Haggard, She: A History of Adventure, London: Longmans, Green, and Co., published 1887, →OCLC
4. The ovaries of a cooked lobster; so called from their color.
5. (historical) A piece of coral, usually fitted with small bells and other appurtenances, used by children as a plaything.
   • On the very chair which I used to occupy when I was at work Marian was sitting now, with the child industriously sucking his coral upon her lap.1859, Wilkie Collins, The Woman in White

See all 9 meanings of coral