jewel
noun
a cut and polished precious stone; gem.
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jewel
1 American
[joo-uhl]
/ ˈdʒu əl /
noun
jewels
plural
-
a cut and polished precious stone; gem.
-
a fashioned ornament for personal adornment, especially of a precious metal set with gems.
-
a precious possession.
-
a person or thing that is treasured, esteemed, or indispensable.
-
a durable bearing used in fine timepieces and other delicate instruments, made of natural or synthetic precious stone or other very hard material.
-
an ornamental boss of glass, sometimes cut with facets, in stained-glass work.
-
something resembling a jewel in appearance, ornamental effect, or the like, as a star.
verb (used with object)
jeweled,
jeweling,
jewelled,
jewelling
Jewel
2
American
[joo-uhl]
/ ˈdʒu əl /
noun
jewel
British
/ ˈdʒuːəl /
noun
-
a precious or semiprecious stone; gem
-
a person or thing resembling a jewel in preciousness, brilliance, etc
-
a gemstone, often synthetically produced, used as a bearing in a watch
-
a piece of jewellery
-
an ornamental glass boss, sometimes faceted, used in stained glasswork
-
the most valuable, esteemed, or successful person or thing of a number
who will be the jewel in the crown of English soccer?
verb
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
-
jewel-likeadjective
-
jewelledadjective
-
jewellikeadjective
-
unjeweledadjective
-
unjewelledadjective
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Etymology
Origin of jewel
1250–1300; Middle English jouel juel < Anglo-French jeul, Old French jouel, joel < Vulgar Latin *jocāle plaything, noun use of neuter of *jocālis (adj.) of play, equivalent to Latin joc ( us ) joke + -ālis -al 1
Explanation
A jewel is a valuable gem or stone, one that might be set in a ring or necklace. Your grandmother might keep her jewels locked in a safe, to protect them from thieves. You can see large, gorgeous jewels in museums and jewelry stores. The diamond in a diamond ring is a jewel, and the rubies in a pair of sparkly red earrings are also jewels. You can also use the word to mean "person as special as a jewel." The Old French root is jouel, which may stem from jocus, "sport or pastime" in Latin, and "that which causes joy" in Vulgar Latin.
Vocabulary lists containing jewel
List 10
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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:
People familiar with the matter said that LIV is on the verge of canceling its team championship, the final event on the schedule and a tournament once touted as LIV’s crown jewel.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 29, 2026
"Chalk streams should be the jewel in the crown of our waterways; a unique, internationally rare habitat we are lucky to have on our doorstep, and we should be proud of," she added.
From BBC ● Jul. 24, 2026
“Remake” is McElwee’s first film in 15 years, appearing like a jewel out of a mountain of life’s rubble.
From Salon ● Jul. 24, 2026
The crown jewel of the property is surely the chef’s kitchen, described in the listing as “the heart of the home.”
From MarketWatch ● Jul. 2, 2026
The Golden Crescent glistened like a jewel, and behind it the Ridge stood tall, a wall protecting a treasure.
From "Tristan Strong Punches a Hole in the Sky" by Kwame Mbalia
When it is not being used, it is kept in the Jewel House at the Tower of London.
From BBC ● Apr. 27, 2026
I did talk to people who are happy with Runna, including Jewel Christensen, a seasoned runner from Yakima, Wash.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Feb. 8, 2026
A family-friendly mix of artists included Elmo and Christopher Jackson, Shaggy and Busta Rhymes, Foreigner and Debbie Gibson, Jewel and Cynthia Erivo, the voices behind the hit animated series K-Pop Demon Hunters.
From Salon ● Nov. 27, 2025
He was shopping with his wife Jewel and their 2-year-old daughter Paisley, for whom he’s buying Oasis children’s gear, a sweatshirt and T-shirt.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 21, 2025
And although it was their underpaid labor that transformed Durham into the Jewel of the New South, their presence in the “better areas” of town was not welcome.
From "The Best of Enemies" by Osha Gray Davidson
That Yale is willing to risk these jewels in her crown speaks volumes about the terrible power of the proposed OMB regulation.
From Slate ● Jul. 30, 2026
Still, the Mount Olympus property, which was originally built in 1980, was certainly one of the jewels in that crown.
From MarketWatch ● Jun. 9, 2026
The Man of Steel combats gigantic robots programmed to abscond with jewels and other valuables and then take to the air to return to their mad-genius minder.
From The Wall Street Journal ● May 27, 2026
After seven months of investigation, and despite the arrests of the main suspects, the jewels have still not been found.
From Barron's ● May 26, 2026
The stars are bright tonight, a thousand sparkling jewels sewn into a dress only fit for a goddess.
From "Beasts of Prey" by Ayana Gray
Paul Kutchinsky set out to create a supersize jeweled egg.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Apr. 2, 2026
Buddz went for a grouping of jeweled brooches.
From Seattle Times ● Feb. 4, 2024
Iranian-style jewelry studded with jade and other precious stones were popular during the Ottoman period, and Joyce may have applied his newfound skills to crafting rings, earrings, necklaces, and intricate jeweled turban aigrettes.
From National Geographic ● Jan. 11, 2024
Many are being offered for a few thousand dollars, including everything from the portraits by Lange to jeweled rings to Versace dinnerware.
From New York Times ● Jan. 11, 2024
His head was balding, and around the detailed crown of curls, he wore a circlet studded with large jeweled insects.
From "Tristan Strong Punches a Hole in the Sky" by Kwame Mbalia
And at night, when the ticky-tacky disappears and the jeweling lights go on, the happy, hoppy daydream becomes a garden of visual delight.
From Time Magazine Archive
She will miss this glorious light warming the inside of her skin and jeweling the trees, the grass, the lily pond beyond the hedge.
From "How the García Girls Lost Their Accents" by Julia Alvarez
For by their necessity the gods were compelled to invent the arts of metal-working, weaving, carpentry, jeweling and many other useful appliances for the human race.
From Japanese Fairy World Stories from the Wonder-Lore of Japan by Ozawa
There is no jeweling in the escapement or on the other end of the balance staff.
From The Auburndale Watch Company First American Attempt Toward the Dollar Watch by Battison, Edwin A.
We would not advise jeweling the pivot holes, because there is but slight friction, except to the foot of the balance pivot, which should be jeweled with a plano-convex garnet.
"I wanted to see whether, when you strip away the usual Chanel signatures - the tweed, the jewelled buttons - you can still get to that essence," he told WWD.
From BBC ● Jan. 29, 2026
In a vast, dimly lit main hall spanning four levels, visitors gazed at chariots, household items, jewelled ornaments and, at the centre, Tutankhamun's iconic golden mask.
From Barron's ● Nov. 4, 2025
Bridgerton star Charithra Chandran's dress had a jewelled vine detail.
From BBC ● Feb. 18, 2024
"We did have somewhat of a clash at one point," she said, "when I was doing chic punk and she used to say 'That's not punk, with those jewelled safety pins'."
From BBC ● Dec. 30, 2022
When he came out he was bearing in his arms a great load of treasure: things of gold, silver, copper, and bronze; many beads and chains and jewelled ornaments.
From "The Fellowship of the Ring" by J.R.R. Tolkien
Their powder is the best for the lapidary, and they are used for jewelling watches, and in the cutting of window- and plate-glass.
From The New Gresham Encyclopedia Volume 4, Part 1: Deposition to Eberswalde by Various
The ice glistened on the naked trees, encasing and jewelling them.
From Senator North by Atherton, Gertrude Franklin Horn
Her light had not yet reached the harbor, the further side of which was shadowy and suggestive, with dim coves and rich glooms and jewelling lights.
From Anne's House of Dreams by Montgomery, L. M. (Lucy Maud)
Dew jewelling the grasses in the fields, the chatter of birds among the trees, a sparkling freshness in the air, and before me the road, running white into the gold of the rising sun.
From The Courtship of Morrice Buckler A Romance by Mason, A. E. W. (Alfred Edward Woodley)
Store sufficient of raiment is all she need have, and such jewelling as it shall please you to bestow on her.
From The White Lady of Hazelwood A Tale of the Fourteenth Century by Rainey, W. (William)
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.
