garnet
1 Americannoun
-
any of a group of hard, vitreous minerals, silicates of calcium, magnesium, iron, or manganese with aluminum or iron, varying in color: a deep-red transparent variety is used as a gem and as an abrasive.
-
a deep-red color.
noun
noun
noun
Usage
What does garnet mean? A garnet is a deep-red transparent gemstone. This is just one type of garnet, which is a type of mineral. Garnet can also be brown, black, green, or yellow, and some kinds are opaque (nontransparent). Still, the name garnet is most popularly associated with the glassy red gemstone, and the word garnet can also be used to refer to a deep-red color. Garnet gems are traditionally considered semiprecious, which is a label applied to a class of gems that have commercial value but one that is less than that of stones labeled precious. However, garnets can cost much more than some precious stones. Garnet is the traditional birthstone for the month of January. It is also associated with the zodiac signs Capricorn and Aquarius. Along with its use in jewelry and other decorative uses, garnet is also used as an abrasive, which is a material used for grinding or polishing. For example, garnet paper is a kind of sandpaper made with crushed garnet. Example: My mom gave me a necklace with a garnet pendant for my birthday.
Other Word Forms
- garnet-like adjective
- garnetlike adjective
Etymology
Origin of garnet
1275–1325; Middle English garnet, gernate < Old French gernate, grenade < Latin grānātum granular; cf. pomegranate
Explanation
A garnet is a semi-precious gemstone that's usually a deep red color. If you were born in January, the garnet is your birthstone. Garnet comes from the Medieval Latin granatum, "of dark red color." One theory says the word was abstracted from pomum granatum, or "pomegranate," which has dark red seeds. Despite this origin, and the fact that garnet itself means "dark red," as well as "a gemstone," garnets actually come in a wide range of colors: pink, green, brown, blue, and even colorless. These silicate stones are mined all over the world and polished into gems.
Vocabulary lists containing garnet
Red
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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.
The discoveries included a silver, gold and garnet bird's-head terminal with elephant ivory inlays, possibly from a drinking-horn, several gold rings, and other metal objects.
From BBC • Jan. 20, 2026
Their wings, in shades of lavender, green and red, represented certain crystals and traits: amethyst as one of calm and purity, malachite as one of protection and rose garnet for healing and love.
From Los Angeles Times • Nov. 14, 2025
"We could see it was something really exciting as despite more than 1,000 years in the ground we could see glints of the possible garnet setting."
From BBC • Sep. 4, 2024
These made the garnet surrounding the SiO2 inclusions fracture.
From Science Daily • Oct. 27, 2023
“This one is better,” Agha Rezaei said, and pulled down two garnet bottles of robe.
From "Darius the Great Is Not Okay" by Adib Khorram
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.
