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  • jasper
    jasper
    noun
    a compact, opaque, cryptocrystalline variety of quartz, usually colored red: often used in decorative carvings.
  • Jasper
    Jasper
    noun
    a city in NW Alabama.

jasper

1 American  
[jas-per] / ˈdʒæs pər /

noun

  1. a compact, opaque, cryptocrystalline variety of quartz, usually colored red: often used in decorative carvings.

  2. Also called jasper ware;.  Also called cameo ware.  a fine, hard stoneware introduced c1775 by Wedgwood, stained various colors by metallic oxides, with raised designs in white.


jasper 2 American  
[jas-per] / ˈdʒæs pər /

noun

Older Slang.
  1. a fellow; guy.


Jasper 3 American  
[jas-per] / ˈdʒæs pər /

noun

  1. a city in NW Alabama.

  2. a resort town in SW Alberta, in SW Canada, on the Athabasca River: headquarters for Jasper National Park.

  3. a male given name, form of Caspar.


jasper British  
/ ˈdʒæspə /

noun

  1. an opaque impure microcrystalline form of quartz, red, yellow, brown, or dark green in colour, used as a gemstone and for ornamental decoration

  2. Also called: jasper ware.  a dense hard stoneware, invented in 1775 by Wedgwood, capable of being stained throughout its substance with metallic oxides and used as background for applied classical decoration

"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

jasper Scientific  
/ jăspər /
  1. A reddish, brown, or yellow variety of chert. Jasper usually occurs in association with iron ores and contains iron impurities that give it its color.


Etymology

Origin of jasper1

1300–50; Middle English jaspe, jaspre < Middle French; Old French jaspe < Latin iaspis < Greek iáspis < Semitic; compare Arabic yashb

Origin of jasper2

1895–1900, special use of proper name Jasper

Explanation

Jasper is a hard, semiprecious stone that's usually red. One of your birthstones is jasper if you were born in the month of March. Jasper is a type of quartz that can be brown, yellow, or green, but is most often a mottled, brick red color. When geologists find jasper embedded in cracks of volcanic rocks, it looks dull and drab, but it's beautifully shiny after being polished. Jasper has been used in jewelry and decorative objects for thousands of years. The word jasper means "spotted or speckled stone," from a Greek root.

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Vocabulary lists containing jasper

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 remained an unused substitute in the next round - when it again went to penalties - and the Dutch went out with Jasper Cillessen not saving any kicks.

From BBC • Jun. 28, 2026

These fresher faces — Jasper Dolphin, Rachel Wolfson, Zach Holmes — prove brave and resilient when allowed to participate.

From Los Angeles Times • Jun. 26, 2026

Jasper S. Phelps and Minsu Kim are also co-first authors of the study.

From Science Daily • Jun. 10, 2026

They looked for data and research that had been collected locally—about wolf abundance in Jasper National Park, for example.

From Slate • Apr. 28, 2026

I wiped the biscuit crumbs from my mouth and called to Jasper.

From "Rebecca" by Daphne du Maurier

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