jewel

Meanings

1. 1nouncountable

   A valuable stone, especially one that has been cut and polished for use in jewelry.

   Grammar: Countable: one jewel, two jewels. Often used in the plural when talking about several stones.

   Patterns

   • a precious jewel
   • a jewel in something
   • set a jewel

   The queen wore a crown decorated with jewels.

   He bought a diamond jewel for the ring.

   The thieves stole jewels worth millions.

2. 2nouncountablefigurative

   A person or thing that is highly valued or admired.

   Grammar: Countable and often used figuratively: the jewel of the team, a jewel of a place.

   Patterns

   • the jewel of something
   • a jewel of a something

   She is the jewel of our company.

   This small café is a real jewel of the neighborhood.

   The city's oldest park is considered a jewel of the community.

Word forms

Common combinations

precious jewel

The museum displayed a precious jewel from ancient times.

crown jewel

The crown jewel was kept in a secure vault.

jewel thief

The jewel thief was caught on camera.

jewel of a

She has a jewel of a garden.

Synonyms and how they differ

gem

Gem is more common in everyday speech for a cut stone, while jewel often suggests a stone already set in jewelry.

gemstone

Gemstone is a technical term for the raw material, not the finished piece.

treasure

Treasure refers to a collection of valuable things, not a single cut stone.

Word family

jeweler noun

A person who makes or sells jewelry.

jewelry noun

Ornaments such as rings and necklaces.

bejeweled adjective

Decorated with jewels.

Commonly confused: jewel or joule?

Practice

Make it your own

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

Explore more words