GEM (gemmed, gemming)

Pronunciation (US):

(GB):

IPA (US):

Irregular inflected forms: gemmed    , gemming   

 Dictionary entry overview: What does gem mean? 

• GEM (noun)
  The noun GEM has 5 senses:

1. art highly prized for its beauty or perfection

2. a crystalline rock that can be cut and polished for jewelry

3. a person who is as brilliant and precious as a piece of jewelry

4. a sweet quick bread baked in a cup-shaped pan

5. a precious or semiprecious stone incorporated into a piece of jewelry

  Familiarity information: GEM used as a noun is common.

 Dictionary entry details 

• GEM (noun)

Sense 1

Meaning:

Art highly prized for its beauty or perfection

Classified under:

Nouns denoting man-made objects

Synonyms:

gem; treasure

Hypernyms ("gem" is a kind of...):

art; fine art (the products of human creativity; works of art collectively)

Sense 2

Meaning:

A crystalline rock that can be cut and polished for jewelry

Classified under:

Nouns denoting substances

Synonyms:

gem; gemstone; stone

Context example:

she had jewels made of all the rarest stones

Hypernyms ("gem" is a kind of...):

crystal (a solid formed by the solidification of a chemical and having a highly regular atomic structure)

Hyponyms (each of the following is a kind of "gem"):

cabochon (a highly polished gem that is cut convexly but without facets)

opaque gem (a gemstone that is opaque)

transparent gem (a gemstone having the property of transmitting light without serious diffusion)

Holonyms ("gem" is a part of...):

jewellery; jewelry (an adornment (as a bracelet or ring or necklace) made of precious metals and set with gems (or imitation gems))

Sense 3

Meaning:

A person who is as brilliant and precious as a piece of jewelry

Classified under:

Nouns denoting people

Synonyms:

gem; jewel

Hypernyms ("gem" is a kind of...):

individual; mortal; person; somebody; someone; soul (a human being)

Sense 4

Meaning:

A sweet quick bread baked in a cup-shaped pan

Classified under:

Nouns denoting foods and drinks

Synonyms:

gem; muffin

Hypernyms ("gem" is a kind of...):

quick bread (breads made with a leavening agent that permits immediate baking)

Hyponyms (each of the following is a kind of "gem"):

bran muffin (muffin containing bran)

corn muffin (cornbread muffin)

popover (light hollow muffin made of a puff batter (individual Yorkshire pudding) baked in a deep muffin cup)

Sense 5

Meaning:

A precious or semiprecious stone incorporated into a piece of jewelry

Classified under:

Nouns denoting man-made objects

Synonyms:

gem; jewel; precious stone

Hypernyms ("gem" is a kind of...):

jewellery; jewelry (an adornment (as a bracelet or ring or necklace) made of precious metals and set with gems (or imitation gems))

Hyponyms (each of the following is a kind of "gem"):

crown jewel (a precious stone that is a valuable part of a sovereign's regalia)

solitaire (a gem (usually a diamond) in a setting by itself)

diamond (a transparent piece of diamond that has been cut and polished and is valued as a precious gem)

ruby (a transparent piece of ruby that has been cut and polished and is valued as a precious gem)

pearl (a smooth lustrous round structure inside the shell of a clam or oyster; much valued as a jewel)

emerald (a transparent piece of emerald that has been cut and polished and is valued as a precious gem)

sapphire (a transparent piece of sapphire that has been cut and polished and is valued as a precious gem)

 Context examples 

I understand that you give me carte blanche to act for you, provided only that I get back the gems, and that you place no limit on the sum I may draw.

(The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle)

It was shaped like a chair and sparkled with gems, as did everything else.

(The Wonderful Wizard of Oz, by L. Frank Baum)

Jupiter’s presence in this house will help you hire qualified candidates who will turn out to be gems.

(AstrologyZone.com, by Susan Miller)

I looked down at the brown glory of her hair, glinting gems in the sunshine far more precious to me than those in the treasure-chests of kings.

(The Sea-Wolf, by Jack London)

To me, he was in reality become no longer flesh, but marble; his eye was a cold, bright, blue gem; his tongue a speaking instrument—nothing more.

(Jane Eyre, by Charlotte Brontë)

She sent this didactic gem to several markets, but it found no purchaser, and she was inclined to agree with Mr. Dashwood that morals didn't sell.

(Little Women, by Louisa May Alcott)

For every statue, cut gem, shrine, carven screen, or what else might please the eye of a learned clerk, there are a good hundred to our one.

(The White Company, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle)

Mine is no futility of genius that can't sell gems to the magazines.

(Love of Life and Other Stories, by Jack London)

“And all in four years, Baron. Not such a bad show for the hard-drinking, hard-riding country squire. But the gem of my collection is coming and there is the setting all ready for it.”

(His Last Bow, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle)

He drew up lists of the most incongruous things and was unhappy until he succeeded in establishing kinship between them all—kinship between love, poetry, earthquake, fire, rattlesnakes, rainbows, precious gems, monstrosities, sunsets, the roaring of lions, illuminating gas, cannibalism, beauty, murder, lovers, fulcrums, and tobacco.

(Martin Eden, by Jack London)