gem
Americannoun
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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:
An underrated gem often overshadowed by its predecessor, “Some Girls,” and its successor, “Tattoo You,” “Emotional Rescue” finds the Stones in fine form at the dawn of a new decade.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 10, 2026
Hence, this gem of an anthology series, wherein real-life residents recount the stories that made them regionally famous or nationally infamous, while familiar actors and comedians recreate their stories.
From Salon ● Jul. 1, 2026
But the Lansdowne Portrait, in which Stuart graduated from the bust-length portraits to a full-length one, is the undisputed gem.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 26, 2026
“Sculptural, light-filled, and profoundly livable, this architectural gem stands as a testament to Brouse’s signature vision a residence that celebrates artistry, space, and the boundless beauty of the hills that surround it,” it crowed.
From MarketWatch ● Jun. 2, 2026
Four poultice rooms line the wall, holding the promise of healing from red clay, oakwood charcoal, amethyst gem, and blue onyx.
From "The Belles" by Dhonielle Clayton
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
De Beers is majority-owned by British mining giant Anglo American, which is seeking to offload its stake as the natural diamond market faces intense pressure from laboratory-grown gems.
From Barron's ● Jul. 13, 2026
“I hope the free Historian Passport introduces more Californians to the state’s historic gems and sparks a curiosity and thirst for knowledge that leads to many return visits.”
From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 17, 2026
"Been buying random vinyl at record stores, coming across some gems," the star wrote on Instagram in April.
From BBC ● Jun. 12, 2026
Dye my skin magenta and implant gems in it?
From "Catching Fire" by Suzanne Collins
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
The woodlands and forest tops on the high hills caught the sun’s first ray, which, widening and extending, soon gemmed the landscape with a varying brightness.
From Alida or, Miscellaneous Sketches of Incidents During the Late American War. Founded on Fact by Comfield, Amelia Stratton
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 Smith, Dan
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 MacGowan, Alice
Its little yellow stars may now be seen gemming the woodsides, when all around is cold, comfortless, and dead.
From Mirror of the Months by Patmore, Peter George
CORNFLOWERS, you say, just cornflowers, gemming the golden grain; Ah no!
From Rhymes of a Red Cross Man by Service, Robert W. (Robert William)
In the green stillness of the deep woods, birds singing and shy delicate blossoms gemming the moss, the fierce and savage past was like a dream.
From Masters of the Guild by Lamprey, L.
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.
