jade
noun
either of two minerals, jadeite or nephrite, sometimes green, highly esteemed as an ornamental stone for carvings, jewelry, etc.
jade
1 American
[jeyd]
/ 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
[jeyd]
/ 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:
In July 1986, workers at a brick factory in southwestern China were digging for clay when they hit upon something unexpected: dozens of dazzling pieces of jade.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 8, 2026
Zhao, a woman sporting an intricately carved gold medallion on a necklace of jade beads and shimmering bangles on her wrist, brought her late grandfather's ring to the recycling machine.
From Barron's ● Feb. 1, 2026
They used elaborate red, green, and cream wallpaper throughout, and other staged rooms were painted jade and burgundy.
From MarketWatch ● Dec. 29, 2025
Per the brand’s website, Lung Ching is “famous for its jade green color, earthy aroma, mellow taste and long flat leaf” along with its “distinct character” and “unique cooling effect.”
From Salon ● Apr. 18, 2025
The young rice beds which Wang Lung sowed at first were squares of jade upon the brown earth.
From "The Good Earth" by Pearl S. Buck
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
By its nature and its size Texas invites generalities, and the generalities usually end up as paradox—the “little oF country boy” at a symphony, the booted and blue-jeaned ranchman in Neiman-Marcus, buying Chinese jades.
From "Travels with Charley in Search of America" by John Steinbeck
Our titular heroine is only 13 years old when her escapade begins – a little more mature than most of the director’s protagonists, but still innocent enough not to be jaded.
From Salon ● Jul. 30, 2026
To become jaded is an occupational hazard when you’ve reviewed 2,000 movies, but I was genuinely excited to see Christopher Nolan’s “The Odyssey.”
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 15, 2026
“A jaded cynicism has come over investors,” said Paul Donovan, chief global economist at UBS Wealth Management.
From Barron's ● Jun. 1, 2026
Whatever the result, this was a poor performance by Arsenal, who looked jaded compared to a fresh Bournemouth side who had not played for three weeks.
From BBC ● Apr. 11, 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
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
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
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.
