jewelry

jewelry — noun

1. items that people put on their body to look attractive, for example rings, earri

1.nounB1
Definition

items that people put on their body to look attractive, for example rings, earrings, and necklaces, usually made with gold, silver, or precious stones.

Example

For her graduation, Hoa received a beautiful piece of jewelry from her grandmother.

"piece of" + uncountable noun pattern

The museum's exhibition features ancient gold jewelry from the Han dynasty.

Common collocations
  • wear jewelry
  • piece of jewelry
  • fine jewelry
  • costume jewelry
  • gold / silver / diamond jewelry
  • designer jewelry
  • expensive jewelry
  • handmade jewelry
Synonyms
  • jewellery

    British spelling of the same word

  • ornaments

    broader category that includes non-wearable decorative objects

  • adornments

    more formal or poetic; refers to anything that decorates appearance

  • gems

    specifically the precious stones themselves, not the settings or metalwork

Usage Note

This is the American English spelling. The British English spelling is jewellery. In both varieties it is an uncountable noun, so you say 'some jewelry' or 'a piece of jewelry,' never 'a jewelry' or 'jewelries.'

Common Mistakes

I bought a jewelry yesterday.
I bought a piece of jewelry yesterday.
Jewelry is uncountable; it needs a unit word like piece or item.
She has many jewelries.
She has many pieces of jewelry.
Jewelry does not have a plural form.

Word family

Synonym discussion

Sense: noun/1

Jewelry and its British variant jewellery refer specifically to wearable decorative pieces made of precious or semi-precious materials — rings, necklaces, bracelets, earrings. Ornaments is a broader term that includes any object used for decoration, such as Christmas tree ornaments or ceramic figurines; not all ornaments are wearable. Adornments is more formal or literary and can describe any addition that beautifies a person or thing, from jewelry to flowers in the hair. Gems (or gemstones) are the cut and polished stones themselves — a diamond, ruby, or emerald — and are the raw material of many jewelry pieces, not the finished product. For example, you would say 'She wore gold jewelry to the party,' not 'She wore gold ornaments to the party,' and 'The ring is set with three precious gems,' not 'The ring is set with three precious jewelry.'

jewellery ↗ornamentsadornmentsgems

Common collocations

Nouns

Phrases

  • item of jewelry
  • piece of jewelry
  • line of jewelry

Etymology

LatinOld FrenchMiddle EnglishEnglish

The word jewelry comes from the Middle English 'jewelrye,' which was borrowed from Old French 'jouel' (meaning 'jewel'), ultimately tracing back to the Latin 'jocus,' meaning 'jest' or 'plaything.' The modern American spelling with '-y' became standard in the 19th century, while British English retained the '-ery' ending of the French-derived form, giving 'jewellery.'