birthstone
Americannoun
noun
Usage
What does birthstone mean? A birthstone is a precious or semiprecious stone associated with a particular month. Some people wear jewelry with the stone that corresponds with the month they were born.Here is a list of the birthstones that have traditionally been associated with each month, along with some of their modern alternatives.
- January: garnet
- February: amethyst
- March: bloodstone (or aquamarine)
- April: diamond
- May: emerald
- June: pearl (or alexandrite or moonstone)
- July: ruby
- August: sardonyx (or peridot or spinel)
- September: sapphire
- October: opal (or tourmaline)
- November: topaz (or citrine)
- December: turquoise or lapis (or blue zircon or blue topaz or tanzanite)
Etymology
Origin of birthstone
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.
Becky showed off her favorite matching necklace and earrings—“It’s my birthstone, yellow topaz”—followed by some of the seashells she’d found at the beach.
From Literature
You’ll have fun customizing Ariel Gordon’s handmade dual birthstone ring, which features two birthstones set in a slim open-cuff gold band.
From Los Angeles Times
Pair your giftee’s birthstone with that of a loved one or simply choose two of their favorite stones.
From Los Angeles Times
It won the prize and was published in 1979, followed a year later by “Birthstone.”
From New York Times
Adrift, he set to work on “Birthstone,” a novel about a woman struggling to gather the fragments of her personality into a stable identity.
From New York Times
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.
