plural noun
Valuable stones used to make jewelry or decorate it.
The museum displayed ancient jewels.
The crown was decorated with jewels.
American English
How to pronounce jewels
nounB1Common word
JOOlz
/ˈʤu.l̩z/
2 syllables · Stress the first syllable.
Form of jewel
Jewels usually refers to individual valuable stones or pieces of jewelry. Jewelry is the general word for decorative items worn on the body.
Valuable stones used to make jewelry or decorate it.
What to listen for
“Jewels” is usually pronounced with two syllables, /ˈʤu.l̩z/. You may also hear the shorter one-syllable form /ʤuɫz/.
Usual two-syllable form/ˈʤu.l̩z/
Short one-syllable variant/ʤuɫz/
Meanings & examples
plural noun
Valuable pieces of jewelry, especially ones with precious stones.
She wore beautiful jewels at the party.
He kept the family jewels in a safe.
Good to know
Jewels usually means individual valuable items. For jewelry in general, use jewelry, not jewels.
plural noun
People or things that are especially good, useful, or valuable.
The small bookstores in this town are hidden jewels.
Those local restaurants are real jewels.
Useful expressions
the valuable jewels and other objects belonging to a royal family or country
The crown jewels are kept in the Tower of London.
the best or most important part of a group or place
The new library is the jewel in the crown of the city.