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.
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a fashioned ornament for personal adornment, especially of a precious metal set with gems.
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a precious possession.
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a person or thing that is treasured, esteemed, or indispensable.
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a durable bearing used in fine timepieces and other delicate instruments, made of natural or synthetic precious stone or other very hard material.
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an ornamental boss of glass, sometimes cut with facets, in stained-glass work.
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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
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a piece of jewellery
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an ornamental glass boss, sometimes faceted, used in stained glasswork
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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
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jewel-likeadjective
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jewelledadjective
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jewellikeadjective
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unjeweledadjective
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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
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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:
But officials confirmed no casualties or serious damage, notably to the southern city's Alhambra palace, a UNESCO-listed jewel of medieval Islamic architecture and the seat of Spain's last Muslim kingdom.
From Barron's ● Aug. 15, 2026
Nonetheless, it added another jewel to Walter’s sports empire.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 13, 2026
Since moving back to L.A. in 2014, Wang has vended at local farmers markets, hosted Chinese cooking demos at public libraries and helped staff Filipino restaurant Lasita, a crown jewel of Chinatown’s Far East Plaza.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 4, 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
“I wish I knew where all these pretty things would go when Aunt March dies,” she said, as she slowly replaced the shining rosary and shut the jewel cases one by one.
From "Little Women" by Louisa May Alcott
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
Labour county councillor Jewel Miah, who was also in the briefing, said Abbott's remarks were prejudiced and has called for him to resign.
From BBC ● Jan. 9, 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
“I can’t and I hate to rush you out but... Mama’s meeting me at the Jewel Taylor Shoppe.”
From "The Help" by Kathryn Stockett
Faux jewels, sequins and shiny baubles were Parton’s signature once she became a household name.
From Salon ● Aug. 26, 2026
If Mark Walter is selling one of the crown jewels of Los Angeles sports, is he about to sell the other?
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 12, 2026
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
Demand for Cartier’s most expensive jewels is strong now that wealthy households are getting even richer from surging stock markets.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 22, 2026
The sequins on her tutu caught the light and glinted like jewels.
From "The Season of Styx Malone" by Kekla Magoon
Why would you want to eat jeweled rice?
From Slate ● Aug. 15, 2026
If the thieves who dropped Empress Eugenie’s crown outside the Louvre during this year’s heist, sparked an interest in jeweled headgear, try this encyclopedic guide to the world’s most famous tiaras.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Dec. 28, 2025
The song kicks off with Hahn, wearing cape sleeves and jeweled fringe, owning her lead singer status.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 3, 2024
According to another legend, Brigid gave her father’s jeweled sword to a needy man for him to barter for food.
From Seattle Times ● Jan. 26, 2024
A heavy thing like a box, with dark damaged spaces along the edges that must have been for filigree and jeweled settings, though someone had torn most of that off a long time ago.
From "The Reader" by Traci Chee
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
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 Edwin A. Battison
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.
For a half hour the torrents fell--then the sun burst forth, jeweling the forest with a million scintillant gems; but today the ape-man, usually alert to the changing wonders of the jungle, saw them not.
From Jungle Tales of Tarzan by Edgar Rice Burroughs
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
"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
Both men remain in Macau prison, a far cry from the jewelled opulence of the VIP parlours they once presided over.
From Reuters ● Sep. 19, 2022
Whether she's wearing a jewelled gown or a tweed skirt every outfit says something about her and her role as an ambassador and figurehead.
From BBC ● May 31, 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
So we stroll and look at the shops, at the filigree gold jewelling of the peasants, at a good bookshop.
From Sea and Sardinia by D. H. (David Herbert) Lawrence
From where he sat he could see the trembling lights of the village jewelling the rim of the bay like a circlet of stars.
From Flood Tide by Sara Ware Bassett
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 Gertrude Franklin Horn Atherton
She paused a moment, looking up at the wooded hill-top, which the sun was jewelling in silver.
From Other Things Being Equal by Emma Wolf
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.
