jewelry

noun jew·el·ry \ ˈjü-əl-rē , ˈjül-rē , ˈju̇l- ; nonstandard ˈjü-lə-rē \

Updated on: 11 Apr 2018

Definition of jewelry

: jewels; especially : objects of precious metal often set with gems and worn for personal adornment

See jewelry defined for English-language learners

See jewelry defined for kids

Examples of jewelry in a Sentence

a store that sells jewelry

Recent Examples of jewelry from the Web

Before the auction, Sotheby’s predicted the eclectic offerings, covering movies, guitars, art, watches, sporting memorabilia and Crowe’s jewelry gifts to Spencer, would bring between AU$2.6 million and AU$3.7 million.

— Washington Post, "Russell Crowe’s $104K violin high note of Sydney auction," 7 Apr. 2018
All of this helped create a fairy tale atmosphere that complemented and enhanced the jewelry designs.

— laird borrelli-persson, Vogue, "See the Exquisite, One-of-a-Kind Jewels from Dolce & Gabbana’s Latest Alta Gioielleria Collection Here," 7 Apr. 2018
The Astros have turned Union Station at Minute Maid Park into a World Series jewelry store for the first couple weeks of the season.

— matt young, Houston Chronicle, "All the Astros' World Series jewelry fans can buy," 6 Apr. 2018
The increase in size of India’s formal economy after the cash ban and the new sales tax coupled with the recent hike in wages of government staff is lifting sales at automakers, jewelry firms and restaurants, the brokerage said.

— Bloomberg.com, "Macquarie Joins Bulls on India Consumer Stocks as Demand Revives," 6 Apr. 2018
At each gathering a middle-aged lady — with their drapey clothes and chunky jewelry and enlightened sense of social justice, trumped, in that moment, by entitled curiosity — demanded to know what had happened to my skin.

— sarah harris, The Cut, "Learning the Art of Disguise at a Unique Summer Camp," 6 Apr. 2018
Stashes of whaling amulets—an ambiguous word used to describe everything from carved, jewelry-like charms to feathers or skulls—were passed from father to son in whaling families.

— krista langlois, Smithsonian, "Why Scientists Are Starting to Care About Cultures Who Talk to Whales," 6 Apr. 2018
As part of a dedicated Coachella collection from Los Angeles jewelry brand VNG is this Let the Sun Shine In necklace/belt/headpiece.

— kavita daswani, latimes.com, "Forget about the flower crowns for Coachella. Try these fashion picks on for size," 5 Apr. 2018
Shoppers familiar with Blue Iris will see some new products, Glascock said, including locally or U.S.-made gift items, air plants, greeting cards and jewelry.

— libby solomon, baltimoresun.com, "After 2017 fire, Blue Iris Flowers coming back to Catonsville," 5 Apr. 2018

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

Did You Know?

Objects designed for the adornment of the body are called jewelry. While modern jewelry is made of gold, silver, or platinum, often with precious or semiprecious stones, it evolved from shells, animal teeth, and other items used as body decoration in prehistoric times. Over the centuries it came to be a sign of social or religious rank, and in Renaissance Italy, jewelry-making reached the status of a fine art. By the 19th century, industrialization brought jewelry within the reach of the middle class. Firms opened by such jewelers as Carl Fabergé and Louis Comfort Tiffany achieved great success by making fine jewelry for the wealthy.