jade
noun
either of two minerals, jadeite or nephrite, sometimes green, highly esteemed as an ornamental stone for carvings, jewelry, etc.
jade
1 American
[jayd]
/ dʒeɪd /
noun
-
either of two minerals, jadeite or nephrite, sometimes green, highly esteemed as an ornamental stone for carvings, jewelry, etc.
-
an object, as a carving, made from this material.
-
Also called jade green. green, varying from bluish green to yellowish green.
jade
2
American
[jayd]
/ dʒeɪd /
noun
-
a worn-out, broken-down, worthless, or vicious horse.
-
a disreputable or ill-tempered woman.
verb (used with or without object)
-
jades,
present (3rd person singular)
-
jaded,
past, past participle
-
jading
present participle
JADE
3
American
[jayd]
/ dʒeɪd /
abbreviation
jade
1
British
/ dʒeɪd /
noun
-
-
a semiprecious stone consisting of either jadeite or nephrite. It varies in colour from white to green and is used for making ornaments and jewellery
-
( as modifier )
jade ornaments
-
-
-
the green colour of jade
-
( as modifier )
a jade skirt
-
jade
2
British
/ dʒeɪd /
noun
-
an old overworked horse; nag; hack
-
derogatory a woman considered to be ill-tempered or disreputable
verb
jade
Scientific
/ jād /
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
-
jadesimple
-
jadessimple
-
have jadedperfect
-
has jadedperfect
-
am jadingprogressive
-
are jadingprogressive
-
is jadingprogressive
-
have been jadingperfect progressive
-
has been jadingperfect progressive
Past
-
jadedsimple
-
had jadedperfect
-
was jadingprogressive
-
were jadingprogressive
-
had been jadingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of jade1
1585–95; < French < Italian giada < obsolete Spanish ( piedra de ) ijada (stone of ) colic < Vulgar Latin *iliata, equivalent to Latin īli ( a ) flanks ( see ilium) + -ata -ate 1; so called because supposed to cure nephritic colic
Origin of jade2
1350–1400; Middle English; of obscure origin
Explanation
Jade is a deep green gemstone that's used in jewelry and ornaments. Your most beloved possession might be an antique jade brooch that belonged to your great-grandmother. Jade is a mineral that's mined, cut, and polished to make gems, sculptures, and other art objects. You can also use the word jade to talk about the typical green color of the stone — you might describe the color of your new car, for example, as jade green. Yet another meaning of jade is "become bored or tired," along with the more common adjective, jaded, or "lacking enthusiasm."
Vocabulary lists containing jade
Much Ado About Nothing
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Green
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Aztec, Maya, and Inca Empires - Introductory
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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:
Sailing west across the Pacific for three months, the ships brought silver coins from Spain's American colonies to Manila, where they would be exchanged for luxury goods like silk, porcelain and jade from China.
From Barron's ● Apr. 28, 2026
Because this is a low-key charity gig, the staging and lighting are minimal; but the star makes the room shrink, shimmying around in a jade green ballgown with irrepressible energy.
From BBC ● Feb. 27, 2026
What the author gets at in every example, from Kokopelli petroglyphs to fragile jade flutes and the lush sets and experimental sounds of Serge Diaghilev’s Ballets Russes, is a common longing.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jan. 23, 2026
They used elaborate red, green, and cream wallpaper throughout, and other staged rooms were painted jade and burgundy.
From MarketWatch ● Dec. 29, 2025
He has held—held!—a dagger handle at least four hundred years old, made of white jade and inlaid with emeralds.
From "All the Light We Cannot See" by Anthony Doerr
Tom Grennan, Sam Fender and Mumford & Sons topped the bill, while Ed Sheeran made a surprise appearance and JADE, from Little Mix, got teary on stage.
From BBC ● Nov. 18, 2025
Other acts set to perform at the ceremony on 1 March include JADE, Myles Smith, Shaboozey and Teddy Swims.
From BBC ● Feb. 11, 2025
A steady stream of freshly published books crosses my desk in which the authors insist that the American workplace jades employees and managers alike.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Apr. 17, 2026
Most of the grounds were covered with refuse and thickets of common SoCal landscaping plants — jades, ivy, vinca and morning glory — and he’s been reshaping the garden ever since.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 13, 2022
Given that, the robes and jades just didn’t fit.
From Seattle Times ● Mar. 4, 2013
Qing porcelain with square seal-style marks and imperial jades, both of which suit current tastes, are sure to go on rising in the New York Asian Week this month and later in Hong Kong.
From New York Times ● Sep. 7, 2011
The reds and yellows of common flame warred against the emeralds and jades of wildfire, each color flaring and then fading, birthing armies of short-lived shadows to die again an instant later.
From "A Clash of Kings" by George R.R. Martin
When set against the newfound organisation and vigour of this Rangers set-up then Celtic look jaded.
From BBC ● Sep. 20, 2026
Saylor is not an obvious candidate for jaded people to revere.
From Slate ● Sep. 20, 2026
During the public meeting, the jaded panel members admitted several times that the science supporting the compounded substances was inadequate.
From MarketWatch ● Sep. 17, 2026
For a jaded adult, reading children’s books can also recall the discoveries of a younger self.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 26, 2026
They weren’t jaded, and now they’d been galvanized and united.
From "Becoming" by Michelle Obama
To adapt a Baconian phrase, the weather is the one subject that you cannot dull by jading it too far.
From Essays in Rebellion by Henry W. Nevinson
It is very difficult now, after all that has crowded in upon us, jading the sensitive recipient surface of memory, to reconstitute the frame of mind in which we passed those days.
From John Redmond's Last Years by Stephen Lucius Gwynn
No worldly samples Of honors jading Shall wreath your temples With laurels fading; But bright, eternal, shall thee entrance The blessed holies' inheritance.
From The Angel of Death by August W. Almqvist
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.
