crown jewel

noun

Updated on: 24 Apr 2018

Definition of crown jewel

1 crown jewels plural : the jewels (such as the crown and scepter) belonging to a sovereign's regalia

2 : the most attractive or valuable one of a collection or group

See crown jewel defined for English-language learners

Examples of crown jewel in a Sentence

The painting is the crown jewel of the museum's collection.
one of the company's crown jewels

Recent Examples of crown jewel from the Web

That’s because the crown jewel in this scenario is not a product or patent or film library, but a person: Moonves.

— geoff colvin, Fortune, "The CBS-Viacom Merger Will Happen. Here's Why," 11 Apr. 2018
But the crown jewel of the collection has to be the Petal Metal Highlighter ($42), which is shaped like a literal rose gold rose.

— macaela mackenzie, Allure, "Smashbox Petal Metal Highlighter Is the Most Spring Beauty a Highlighter Can Get," 9 Apr. 2018
Where to eat and drink Durham’s food scene has recently become the city’s crown jewel, and offers an insane array of food at basically any price point.

— lisa dunn, GQ, "Durham: Where to Drink, Eat, Sleep, and Chill with Lemurs in the South's Best Second City," 7 Apr. 2018
Not too long ago, the Martin twins, Caleb and Cody, were viewed as the crown jewels of Virginia’s prep basketball scene.

— nick moyle, San Antonio Express-News, "Once recruited by Smart, Nevada’s Martin twins will be handful for Texas," 13 Mar. 2018
The Imperial Suite is the crown jewel of the hotel’s bedrooms, marrying the temple’s ancient woodwork with modern design elements.

— alice newell-hanson, Condé Nast Traveler, "19 Hotels That Used to Be Churches, Temples, and More," 29 Mar. 2018
Many of the stones have become part of the crown jewels.

— jason daley, Smithsonian, "World’s Fifth-Largest Diamond Found in Lesotho," 16 Jan. 2018
The crown jewel of that haul is Nate Soldier, who left the New England Patriots to sign the richest contract for a tackle in the history of the NFL.

— peter dawson, star-telegram, "Here's where the NFC East teams stand after a week of free agency | Fort Worth Star-Telegram," 23 Mar. 2018
Among the biggest benefits is that Miles and IndyCar will now be able to leverage their crown jewel, the Indianapolis 500, to promote the series’ other events.

— jim ayello, Indianapolis Star, "The Indy 500 will soon have a new TV network," 21 Mar. 2018

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'crown jewel.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

First Known Use of crown jewel

1643

in the meaning defined at sense 1

See Words from the same year

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crown jewel Synonyms

Phrases

a feather in one's cap;

CROWN JEWEL Defined for English Language Learners

crown jewel

noun

Definition of crown jewel for English Language Learners

the crown jewels : the crown, scepter, and other jeweled objects that a king or queen uses on formal occasions
: the most valuable or attractive thing in a collection or group