From Longman Dictionary of Contemporary Englishporcelainporce‧lain /ˈpɔːslɪn $ ˈpɔːrsəlɪn/ noun [uncountable] 1 TIPa hard shiny white substance that is used for making expensive plates, cups etc → china a porcelain vase2 DFUplates, cups etc made of this → china
Examples from the Corpus
porcelain• Instruments of torture feature somewhat incongruously alongside porcelain, glassware and fans owned by members of the imperial family.• Firemen and villagers formed a chain to ferry furniture and porcelain to safety.• I held my breath and examined the exquisite little porcelain feathers and the pink and white porcelain crab-apple blossoms.• The year was 1710, and Meissen porcelain is still being made to this day.• Hand-painted porcelain plates and artistic presentations are visually charming here.• The porcelain industry, in which again much government money was sunk, was also a failure.• She had put two straight-backed chairs at a kitchen table with a white porcelain top.Origin porcelain (1500-1600) French porcelaine, from Italian porcellana “type of shell, porcelain” 