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.
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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
-
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
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:
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
"It's kind of the hidden jewel in the building that nobody knew about," said Carlos Cardoso, partner at Beyer Blinder Belle.
From BBC ● Jul. 26, 2026
They smiled at him and said laughing: ‘Here is a jewel among hobbits!’
From "The Fellowship of the Ring" by J.R.R. Tolkien
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
The Jewel House exhibition had to close temporarily but reopened to the public later that afternoon.
From BBC ● Apr. 27, 2026
His girlfriend, 25-year-old Jewel Rudolph, feels vindicated by her decision to start a business in 2019 selling açai bowls at farmers markets and not going to college like her mom wanted.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Mar. 22, 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’d put in the seventy-five dollars I had managed to save while working at Becker’s Jewel Box.
From "The Glass Castle" by Jeannette Walls
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
Syria was once an archaeologist's paradise, home to some of the oldest and best-preserved jewels of ancient civilisations.
From Barron's ● Jul. 20, 2026
Wimbledon is always a very special tournament and one of the crown jewels of the British summer of sport.
From BBC ● Jul. 13, 2026
There was a grandeur about the day, about the colossal, barely stirring beeches and oaks, and the light that dropped like jewels through the fresh foliage to make pools among last years dead leaves.
From "Atonement" by Ian McEwan
Sumac guinea foul with za’atar beetroot and jeweled cauliflower rice.
From Slate ● Aug. 15, 2026
A stunning jeweled dagger hilt and scabbard from Jahangir’s reign incorporate more than 2,000 diamonds, rubies and emeralds set in an intricate pattern in gold.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 11, 2026
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
The crowd burst into whispered conversation until Queen Melisande, her golden hair swept up beneath a jeweled coronet, raised her hand to quiet them.
From "Ash" by Malinda Lo
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
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.
Evidently the blossoms had just been gathered, for the raindrops of the previous night still sparkled among their petals, jeweling with brilliancy their kaleidoscopic riot of color.
From The Wall Between by Sara Ware Bassett
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
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
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
She's become famous for her brightly coloured dresses and coats paired with a matching hat, accessorised with her signature square handbag, a string of pearls and a jewelled brooch.
From BBC ● May 31, 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
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
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
The ice glistened on the naked trees, encasing and jewelling them.
From Senator North by Gertrude Franklin Horn Atherton
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.
