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Showing results for costume jewelry. Search instead for birthstone jewelry.
Synonyms

costume jewelry

American  

noun

  1. jewelry made of nonprecious metals, sometimes gold-plated or silver-plated, often set with imitation or semiprecious stones.


Etymology

Origin of costume jewelry

An Americanism dating back to 1930–35

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.

After two years of mostly small exchanges — cookbook galleys, costume jewelry, a set of dinner plates with just the right heft — we brought home something that, improbably, shifted the cadence of our cooking.

From Salon • Aug. 19, 2025

Birrittieri-Parente, a single parent who appreciates the bargains offered by sites like Marketplace, has accumulated more than 90 pieces of costume jewelry.

From Seattle Times • Aug. 7, 2023

She loved costume jewelry, as well as pieces by the Danish silversmith Georg Jensen and chairs, which she bought in abundance.

From New York Times • May 6, 2023

Now, however, factories produced clothing, shoes, cookware, furniture, soap, toys, books, musical instruments, and costume jewelry in such quantities that they could be sold at prices the working class could afford.

From Textbooks • Dec. 14, 2022

“The two girls sell it all on the black market and use the money to buy flashy costume jewelry and cheap perfume.”

From "Catch-22" by Joseph Heller

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