jewel

¹ American  

[joo-uhl] / ˈdʒu əl /

noun

1. a cut and polished precious stone; gem.

2. a fashioned ornament for personal adornment, especially of a precious metal set with gems.

3. a precious possession.

4. a person or thing that is treasured, esteemed, or indispensable.

5. a durable bearing used in fine timepieces and other delicate instruments, made of natural or synthetic precious stone or other very hard material.

6. an ornamental boss of glass, sometimes cut with facets, in stained-glass work.

7. something resembling a jewel in appearance, ornamental effect, or the like, as a star.

---

verb (used with object)

jeweled, jeweling, jewelled, jewelling

1. to set or adorn with jewels.

Jewel ² American  

[joo-uhl] / ˈdʒu əl /

noun

1. a female given name.

---

jewel British  

/ ˈdʒuːəl /

noun

1. a precious or semiprecious stone; gem

2. a person or thing resembling a jewel in preciousness, brilliance, etc

3. a gemstone, often synthetically produced, used as a bearing in a watch

4. a piece of jewellery

5. an ornamental glass boss, sometimes faceted, used in stained glasswork

6. the most valuable, esteemed, or successful person or thing of a number

   who will be the jewel in the crown of English soccer?

---

verb

1. (tr) to fit or decorate with a jewel or jewels

Other Word Forms

• jewel-like adjective
• jewelled adjective
• jewellike adjective
• unjeweled adjective
• unjewelled adjective

Etymology

Origin of jewel

1250–1300; Middle English jouel juel < Anglo-French jeul, Old French jouel, joel < Vulgar Latin *jocāle plaything, noun use of neuter of *jocālis (adj.) of play, equivalent to Latin joc ( us ) joke + -ālis -al ¹

Example Sentences

It was once one of the wealthiest places on Earth, as spices, silk and jewels from India moved through its waters destined for trading centers like Baghdad, and ultimately Europe.

From The Wall Street Journal

ABC staked the future of one of its reality crown jewels on the popularity of #MomTok.

From The Wall Street Journal

James and I hung back at another counter, which was full of jeweled headpieces and long necklaces.

From Literature

King Louis XVI deprived his European rival of its colonial jewel but lost his kingdom and his head.

From The Wall Street Journal

Family members are constantly coming and going through the yard—the Heussenstamms share the property with several of Molly’s siblings—so Molly wanted the space to read like a jewel box from the rear.

From The Wall Street Journal

Related Words

• bauble
• bead
• bling
• gem
• gemstone
• ornament
• stone
• trinket