gems

Meanings

1. 1nounplural

   Precious stones, usually cut and polished for use in jewelry.

   Grammar: Plural form of gem: the gems sparkled; a single stone is a gem.

   Patterns

   • gems of a kind
   • a collection of gems

   The crown was covered with rubies, emeralds and other gems.

   A jeweler spent hours cutting the rough gems into shape.

   Thieves broke into the shop and stole several valuable gems.

2. 2nounpluralinformalfigurative

   Things or people that are especially excellent, valuable or pleasing, often hidden or little known.

   Grammar: Often used for small treasures: hidden gems; a person may be called a gem.

   Patterns

   • hidden gems
   • gems of something

   The old bookshop is one of the town's hidden gems.

   This album is full of musical gems that most fans have never heard.

   Her grandfather's stories are real gems.

Word forms

Common combinations

hidden gems

We spent the weekend looking for hidden gems in the old city.

precious gems

The museum keeps its precious gems behind thick glass.

cut gems

Cut gems reflect light more brightly than raw ones.

rare gems

The collector paid a fortune for rare gems.

gems of wisdom

His speech was full of gems of wisdom.

Synonyms and how they differ

jewels

Jewels can mean the stones themselves or finished pieces of jewelry, so it is wider than gems.

stones

Stones is a plainer, more everyday word and can mean any rock, so it needs context to mean gems.

treasures

Treasures focuses on value and rarity, and does not have to mean stones.

Opposites

Word family

gem noun

one precious stone, or an excellent thing

gemstone noun

a precious or semiprecious mineral cut for jewelry

gemology noun

the study of gemstones

gemmy adjective

sparkling like a gem

Commonly confused: gems or gym?

Practice

Make it your own

Write a sentence using “gems”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.

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