jewelry

American

[joo-uhl-ree, jool-ree] / ˈdʒu əl ri, ˈdʒul ri /

especially British, jewellery

noun

articles of gold, silver, precious stones, etc., for personal adornment.
any ornaments for personal adornment, as necklaces or cuff links, including those of base metals, glass, plastic, or the like.

Etymology

Origin of jewelry

1300–50; Middle English juelrie < Anglo-French juelerie, equivalent to juel jewel + -erie -ery

Explanation

Jewelry refers to an adornment (generally precious metal or stone) worn by a person, like a bracelet, ring, necklace, or earrings. Jewelry may be purely decorative, or it may express something — like a ring that says you are married. Humans have been in the jewelry business for a long time: A shell bracelet, or necklace was found in a cave in South Africa that dates back 75,000 years. Both a diamond ring from Tiffany’s and a handmade beaded bracelet are jewelry, but whether the jewel in jewelry is real or imitation, it is always spelled out. More than one piece of jewelry is still the same word.

Keep Reading on Vocabulary.com

Vocabulary lists containing jewelry

Commonly Misspelled Words, List 1

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In A Sedimental Mood: Rock and Gem Vocabulary

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List 8

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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.

Officers responded to a call Saturday night in Toluca Lake, where burglars are said to have gotten away with high-value items such as jewelry and cash.

From Los Angeles Times • Apr. 19, 2026

Paloma Picasso, the jewelry designer and daughter of Pablo Picasso, in a Tiffany ad.

From The Wall Street Journal • Apr. 16, 2026

There are vitrines throughout, filled with fine jewelry, asteroid chunks and a brontosaurus tooth; some of them have drink rails, where a martini can rest beside an artifact that’s hundreds of millions of years old.

From The Wall Street Journal • Apr. 14, 2026

The ceremony honored achievements in fashion across several categories including ready-to-wear, jewelry, accessories, graduate design and sustainability.

From Los Angeles Times • Apr. 9, 2026

Dad doesn’t ask questions when Scoob leads him to a jewelry store in Mississippi so Scoob can “give something to a guy named Todd.”

From "Clean Getaway" by Nic Stone

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023