jewel
noun
a cut and polished precious stone; gem.
Showing results for jewel.
Search instead for
jewelt.
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
Looking to grow your vocabulary? Check out this interactive, curated word list from our team of English language specialists at Vocabulary.com – one of over 17,000 lists we've built to help learners worldwide!
Week 4 Spelling
Interested in learning more words like this one? Our team at Vocabulary.com has got you covered! You can review flashcards, quiz yourself, practice spelling, and more – and it's all completely free to use!
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:
Later Monday, Leo rode in his popemobile through Metz and celebrated mass in St. Stephen's Cathedral, a jewel of Gothic architecture famous for its stained-glass windows.
From Barron's ● Sep. 28, 2026
It was the jewel in the crown of his growing investment portfolio, before Swiss bankers repossessed it just three years later.
From BBC ● Sep. 11, 2026
Former President Reagan called the right to vote “the crown jewel of American liberties.”
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 6, 2026
The kitchen is surely the crown jewel of the home thanks to its blue cabinets and state-of-the-art appliances.
From MarketWatch ● Sep. 2, 2026
A vivid example: the strangest jewel heists in history, the year before the Mona Lisa disappeared.
From "The Mona Lisa Vanishes" by Nicholas Day
Liberia has charged former Vice President Jewel Howard-Taylor with drug trafficking, money laundering and a range of other offences, the country's Justice Ministry announced.
From BBC ● Aug. 20, 2026
According to an online FAQ, that decision stemmed from the death of two older herd members — Jewel and Shaunzi — who were euthanized in 2023 and 2024, respectively, for age-related health reasons.
From Los Angeles Times ● Mar. 31, 2026
Crissa Jewel says Zhu’s videos got her back on track to becoming Chinese.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Feb. 24, 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
Inside the bam Jewel slides running to the ground before the horse stops.
From "As I Lay Dying" by William Faulkner
But while suspects may be arrested, jewels or precious metals might not be found - such as with the Louvre case.
From BBC ● Sep. 12, 2026
The four suspected Louvre robbers have been arrested, but the jewels they are accused of grabbing in the seven-minute heist have still not been found.
From Barron's ● Sep. 8, 2026
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
What if he saw the dumbo Pretty Princess game with half its jewels missing in the bargain bin?
From "Habibi" by Naomi Shihab Nye
Sumac guinea foul with za’atar beetroot and jeweled cauliflower 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
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
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
In the firelight, the vessels glinted and glowed, splashing the hollow in jeweled hues.
From "The Undead Fox of Deadwood Forest" by Aubrey Hartman
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 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
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
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.
Insurers paid out £106,700 for the loss, but Prosecutor Julian Winship said there were only seven Fabergé sets - containing a jewelled egg, watch, whisky bottle, cigars and humidor - in existence.
From BBC ● Apr. 9, 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
When she swapped it much later for the jewelled Sword of Offering, the nation breathed a sigh of relief.
From BBC ● May 7, 2023
"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
Eurydamas’s men came back with pendants, ear-drops in triple clusters of warm lights; and from the hoard of Lord Polyktor’s son, Peisandros, came a band for her white throat, jewelled adornment.
From "The Odyssey" by Homer
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
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
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
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 L. M. (Lucy Maud) Montgomery
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 A. E. W. (Alfred Edward Woodley) Mason
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.
