jewel

[ joo-uhl ]
See synonyms for jewel on Thesaurus.com
noun
  1. a cut and polished precious stone; gem.

  2. a fashioned ornament for personal adornment, especially of a precious metal set with gems.

  1. a precious possession.

  2. a person or thing that is treasured, esteemed, or indispensable.

  3. a durable bearing used in fine timepieces and other delicate instruments, made of natural or synthetic precious stone or other very hard material.

  4. an ornamental boss of glass, sometimes cut with facets, in stained-glass work.

  5. something resembling a jewel in appearance, ornamental effect, or the like, as a star.

verb (used with object),jew·eled, jew·el·ing or (especially British) jew·elled, jew·el·ling.
  1. to set or adorn with jewels.

Origin of jewel

1
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-al1

Other words from jewel

  • jew·el·like, adjective
  • un·jew·eled, adjective
  • un·jew·elled, adjective

Other definitions for Jewel (2 of 2)

Jewel
[ joo-uhl ]

noun
  1. a female given name.

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2024

How to use jewel in a sentence

British Dictionary definitions for jewel

jewel

/ (ˈdʒuːəl) /


noun
  1. a precious or semiprecious stone; gem

  2. a person or thing resembling a jewel in preciousness, brilliance, etc

  1. a gemstone, often synthetically produced, used as a bearing in a watch

  2. a piece of jewellery

  3. an ornamental glass boss, sometimes faceted, used in stained glasswork

  4. jewel in the crown the most valuable, esteemed, or successful person or thing of a number: who will be the jewel in the crown of English soccer?

verb-els, -elling or -elled or US -els, -eling or -eled
  1. (tr) to fit or decorate with a jewel or jewels

Origin of jewel

1
C13: from Old French jouel, perhaps from jeu game, from Latin jocus

Derived forms of jewel

  • jewelled or US jeweled, adjective
  • jewel-like, adjective

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012