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:
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
“Colima is a true gem for being so small and so little-known. That’s its virtue,” says chef Nico Mejía, a local star.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 24, 2026
With that, he led a quintet through the music of “Members, Don’t Git Weary,” a 1968 gem within Roach’s catalog, interpreting its six tracks more along lines of harmonic and emotional content than song form.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 22, 2026
There are dozens of accommodation options too, from hostels to brand new luxury getaways advertising the area as Morocco's hidden gem.
From BBC ● May 24, 2026
Once he saw the gem inside, his promise to deliver the box to the general’s house by midnight was forgotten.
From "The Long-Lost Home" by Maryrose Wood
Below, a mix of 2026 blockbusters and little-talked-about gems that are worth any extra moments you may find yourself with this month.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 26, 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
Prices across the industry have fallen because fewer people are buying diamonds than in the past, especially in China, and there is stiff competition from much cheaper lab-grown gems.
From BBC ● Jul. 14, 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
Virgil plucked them habitually, like an explorer searching for gems.
From "Hello, Universe" by Erin Entrada Kelly
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 are gemmed, moreover, with beautiful conceptions, with original and striking expressions.
From The Genius of Scotland or Sketches of Scottish Scenery, Literature and Religion by Turnbull, Robert
CORNFLOWERS, you say, just cornflowers, gemming the golden grain; Ah no!
From Rhymes of a Red Cross Man by Service, Robert W. (Robert William)
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 Hall, S. C., Mrs.
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
And so all the magnificence and beauty of the daily heavens, and the nightly gemming of the empty places with perpetually burning stars, are lost to them!
From Expositions of Holy Scripture Psalms by Maclaren, Alexander
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.
