jewelry
Americannoun
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articles of gold, silver, precious stones, etc., for personal adornment.
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any ornaments for personal adornment, as necklaces or cuff links, including those of base metals, glass, plastic, or the like.
Etymology
Origin of jewelry
1300–50; Middle English juelrie < Anglo-French juelerie, equivalent to juel jewel + -erie -ery
Explanation
Jewelry refers to an adornment (generally precious metal or stone) worn by a person, like a bracelet, ring, necklace, or earrings. Jewelry may be purely decorative, or it may express something — like a ring that says you are married. Humans have been in the jewelry business for a long time: A shell bracelet, or necklace was found in a cave in South Africa that dates back 75,000 years. Both a diamond ring from Tiffany’s and a handmade beaded bracelet are jewelry, but whether the jewel in jewelry is real or imitation, it is always spelled out. More than one piece of jewelry is still the same word.
Vocabulary lists containing jewelry
Commonly Misspelled Words, List 1
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In A Sedimental Mood: Rock and Gem Vocabulary
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List 8
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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.
Platinum supplies will be in surplus this year for the first time since 2022 as investors turn their back on the metal and Chinese jewelry demand weakens, the World Platinum Investment Council said.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 9, 2026
Behind it was the vault that once contained almost 2,000 objects of 24-carat gold, gem-ornamented Nabatean funerary figures and ancient jewelry from the Kingdom of Kush.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 8, 2026
Tourism-dependent segments, including luxury retail, department stores and jewelry, also face more headwinds if there are fewer visitors in Singapore or softening tourist spending.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 7, 2026
Baur’s second theory was that gold performs well in September because of increased jewelry sales in anticipation of Diwali, the annual Hindu festival of lights.
From MarketWatch ● Aug. 31, 2026
At first light Louise’s shadow fell across our jewelry case.
From "Secrets at Sea" by Richard Peck
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.
