gem
Americannoun
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gems
plural
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a cut and polished precious stone or pearl fine enough for use in jewelry.
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something likened to or prized as such a stone because of its beauty or worth.
His painting was the gem of the collection.
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a person held in great esteem or affection.
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British Printing. a 4-point type of a size between brilliant and diamond.
verb (used with object)
adjective
noun
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a precious or semiprecious stone used in jewellery as a decoration; jewel
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a person or thing held to be a perfect example; treasure
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a size of printer's type, approximately equal to 4 point
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a type of small sweet cake
verb
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Etymology
Origin of gem
1275–1325; Middle English gemme < Old French < Latin gemma bud, jewel; replacing Middle English yimme, Old English gim ( m ) < Latin
Explanation
A gem is a precious or semi-precious stone, or a jewel. A silversmith might experiment with adding gems to her rings and necklaces. The sparkly gem in your grandmother's fancy ring might be a diamond, while your aunt appears to prefer the polished greenish-blue gems called turquoise. If you're trained to identify and put a value on gems, you can call yourself a gemologist. Gem is from the Old French gemme, which has a Latin root, gemma, "precious stone or jewel."
Vocabulary lists containing gem
In A Sedimental Mood: Rock and Gem Vocabulary
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Essential Three-Letter Words, Part 2
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This Week in Words: Current Events Vocab for January 27–February 2, 2024
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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.
See Examples For:
As a director, his output included classic films like 1984's rock music mockumentary "This is Spinal Tap," fantasy gem "The Princess Bride" from 1987 and seminal coming-of-age movie "Stand By Me."
From Barron's ● Sep. 15, 2026
"One of the lovely things about Strumpshaw is that the wildlife is quite accessible," added Deavin, who called the reserve a "hidden gem".
From BBC ● Sep. 6, 2026
“Lioness” and “MobLand” are violent fun, “Colin From Accounts” is terrific, ”Diarra From Detroit” is an underrated gem and the sports lineup is solid.
From MarketWatch ● Aug. 31, 2026
This 10,520 square-foot gem in Palm Beach County.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 31, 2026
The orderly troupe of farm animals lined along the windowsill and the straitlaced dolls poised in the various rooms of their open-sided mansion waited for the gem of her first sentence.
From "Atonement" by Ian McEwan
As the man-made gems became mainstream, they increasingly threatened diamonds’ status as the ultimate luxury good, sending prices for both natural and synthetic stones tumbling.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 5, 2026
Let me conclude with a few gems from the experts I spoke to about life in your 70s.
From MarketWatch ● Aug. 23, 2026
"Personally, I say use gems as they're bigger and more impactful, plus you can peel them off at the end of night and reuse them in the morning."
From BBC ● Jul. 30, 2026
With commercial tourism, social media and vlogging much of today’s world feels overexposed and overexplained, with seemingly every destination photographed, every experience reviewed and all hidden gems channeled into content.
From Science Daily ● Jul. 26, 2026
“Well, I must say that is a comforting thing to know! Any more little gems of information to cheer us up, eh?”
From "Redwall" by Brian Jacques
A search for “Barbie” on the company’s website returns rose-gold jewelry and pink gemmed rings.
From Reuters ● Jul. 23, 2023
Moreover, the first images of crosses portray them more as slender, gemmed staffs than as sturdy instruments of execution.
From Washington Post ● Apr. 14, 2017
The passing rivers, the sounds rising from street gratings, the gemmed bridges were recognizable in name, but transposed to a different key.
From New York Times ● Apr. 24, 2014
Depicted in his role as minister of justice, he wears an impressively gemmed and starchy crown, but the face below it looks miserable.
From New York Times ● Mar. 25, 2010
They were as unchanging as the gemmed eyes of an idol.
From Hoof and Claw by Sir Charles George Douglas Roberts
CORNFLOWERS, you say, just cornflowers, gemming the golden grain; Ah no!
From Rhymes of a Red Cross Man by Robert W. (Robert William) Service
Bells of dew glittered upon the bushes rooted in the walls, and upon the ivy-grown pillars; and gemming the countless spiders' webs stretched from bough to bough, showed they were all unbroken.
From The Lancashire Witches A Romance of Pendle Forest by William Harrison Ainsworth
Lady Frances observed it, and smiling said,— "You are gemming my ornaments, setting them in crystal instead of gold."
From The Buccaneer A Tale by Mrs. S. C. Hall
Like some palpable, suffocating substance it filled the plain and mounted far up into the air, even to the blue-black sky, whence a million gemming stars pierced it with their diamond lances.
From With Hoops of Steel by Dan Smith
That door was flung back, and in the square of dripping darkness stood Creed Bonbright, his face death white, his eyes wide and fixed, the rain gemming his uncovered yellow hair.
From Judith of the Cumberlands by Alice MacGowan
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.
