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Synonyms

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?
"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

verb

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

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

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

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

He writes: “The best way to control a person’s mind is to tell them stories that are to humans as orange rinds are to jewel bugs.”

From The Wall Street Journal • Mar. 25, 2026

And "this is the crown jewel," Eddie Schehr, vice president of production at the Seaspan shipyard, told AFP.

From Barron's • Mar. 13, 2026

“I’ll try my very best to turn it around and make it the jewel of downtown L.A.”

From Los Angeles Times • Feb. 23, 2026

Chris Hemsworth, taking a break from wielding Thor’s hammer, stars as a meticulous Los Angeles jewel thief with no past and no fixed identity; his real name, or one of them, is apparently James Davis.

From The Wall Street Journal • Feb. 12, 2026

Helene goes for hers like a jewel thief for rubies, holding the bracers to the light, exclaiming at how Blackcliff s diamond symbol is seamlessly hammered into the shield.

From "An Ember in the Ashes" by Sabaa Tahir

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.