gewgaw
Americannoun
noun
adjective
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of gewgaw
First recorded in 1175–1225; Middle English giuegaue; gradational compound of uncertain origin; perhaps akin to Middle French, French gogo (see (à) gogo )
Explanation
A gewgaw is a little ornament or piece of jewelry. Gewgaws are cheap and don't have any purpose besides decoration. Gewgaws, which go on clothing or are worn as jewelry, are small and ornamental little bits of decoration. They’re not valuable or useful. A diamond would never be considered a gewgaw, because it's so precious. Gewgaws are good for brightening up an outfit. Pieces of jewelry, especially when they're flashy and cheap, can be called gewgaws. The silly sound of this word is a reminder that gewgaws are insubstantial. A gewgaw can also be called a bauble, novelty, or trinket.
Vocabulary lists containing gewgaw
Among the Hidden
Looking to grow your vocabulary? Check out this interactive, curated word list from our team of English language specialists at Vocabulary.com – one of over 17,000 lists we've built to help learners worldwide!
Walden
Interested in learning more words like this one? Our team at Vocabulary.com has got you covered! You can review flashcards, quiz yourself, practice spelling, and more – and it's all completely free to use!
Grendel
Want to remember this word for good? Start your learning journey today with our library of interactive, themed word lists built by the experts at Vocabulary.com – we'll help you make the most of your study time!
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.
In 2017, she arranged to have a ceremonial resin “orb,” apparently a gewgaw given to donors and other honorees that she designed, delivered to Epstein.
From Los Angeles Times • Jan. 16, 2024
This apparent stance toward art is at once moronic and apt; moronic because it reduces art to a mere gewgaw, apt because other entrepreneurs have already embraced this view.
From New York Times • Dec. 1, 2021
Gewgaw, a shiny trinket Bon Voyage A trinket or a knickknack, an ornament, a kickshaw, a frippery, a gimcrack, a bibelot, a gewgaw .
From Washington Post • Aug. 12, 2021
One almost has the sense that Gady would be content to see La Samaritaine remain shuttered—sooner, at least, than see it become one more glittering gewgaw in the doll’s house.
From The New Yorker • Dec. 1, 2014
She wondered what Madame Beattie thought she could get out of giving up the adored gewgaw into other hands.
From The Prisoner by Brown, Alice
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.
