Portland stone

noun

A limestone from the Tithonian stage of the Jurassic period, quarried on the Isle of Portland, Dorset, and used extensively for building in the British Isles.

“St Paul's Cathedral and Buckingham Palace were built with Portland stone.”

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Meanings

nounPortland stone (usually uncountable, plural Portland stones)

plural Portland stones

  1. uncountableusuallyA limestone from the Tithonian stage of the Jurassic period, quarried on the Isle of Portland, Dorset, and used extensively for building in the British Isles.

    St Paul's Cathedral and Buckingham Palace were built with Portland stone.

    1 more example

    I wandered across to the window and looked out. Quite consciously I began saying good-bye to it all. The sun was low. Towers, spires, and façades of Portland stone were white or pink against the dimming sky.

    1951, John Wyndham, The Day of the Triffids, Harmondsworth: Penguin Books, published 1954, page 85
Cite this entry
APA

Portland stone. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 4, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/Portland%20stone

MLA

“Portland stone.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/Portland%20stone. Accessed November 4, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “Portland stone,” accessed November 4, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/Portland%20stone.

Source: Portland stone on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.