Definitions
from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition.
- noun A pearl or mineral that has been cut and polished for use as an ornament.
- noun Something that is valued for its beauty or perfection.
- noun A beloved or highly prized person.
- noun A type of muffin.
- transitive verb To adorn with gems.
from The Century Dictionary.
- noun A bud; especially, a leaf-bud. See
gemma , 1. - noun A precious stone of any kind, as the diamond, ruby, topaz, emerald, etc., especially when cut and polished for ornamental purposes; a jewel.
- noun Something likened to a gem; a beautiful, splendid, or costly object.
- noun In entomology, the small geometrid moth Camptogramma fluviata: an English collectors' name.
- To put forth in buds; bud.
- To adorn with gems, jewels, or precious stones.
- To bespangle; embellish or adorn as if with gems: as, foliage gemmed with dewdrops.
- noun The name given by English type-founders to a body of type that is intermediate between brilliant and diamond.
- noun A cake made with flour or corn meal, sometimes sweetened, and usually baked in a sheet of small, shallow pans.
- To exploit in searching for gems; search for gems in: as, the right to gem a river or a tract of land.
from the GNU version of the Collaborative International Dictionary of English.
- noun (Bot.) A bud.
- noun A precious stone of any kind, as the ruby, emerald, topaz, sapphire, beryl, spinel, etc., especially when cut and polished for ornament; a jewel.
- noun Anything of small size, or expressed within brief limits, which is regarded as a gem on account of its beauty or value, as a small picture, a verse of poetry, a witty or wise saying.
- noun an imitation of a gem, made of glass colored with metallic oxide. Cf.
Paste , andStrass . - transitive verb rare, rare To put forth in the form of buds.
- transitive verb To adorn with gems or precious stones.
- transitive verb To embellish or adorn, as with gems.
from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.
- noun A
precious stone , usually ofsubstantial monetary value orprized for itsbeauty orshine . - noun figuratively any
precious or highly valued thing or person - noun obsolete a
gemma or leaf-bud - noun a type of
geometrid moth , Orthonama obstipata - noun computing A
package containingprograms orlibraries for theRuby programming language . - verb transitive To
adorn with, or as if with, gems.
from WordNet 3.0 Copyright 2006 by Princeton University. All rights reserved.
- noun a precious or semiprecious stone incorporated into a piece of jewelry
- noun a person who is as brilliant and precious as a piece of jewelry
- noun art highly prized for its beauty or perfection
- noun a sweet quick bread baked in a cup-shaped pan
- noun a crystalline rock that can be cut and polished for jewelry
Etymologies
from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 4th Edition
from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License
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Examples
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This gem is a rock that comprises numerous minerals including Charoite.
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This gem is about a man that just wants to find out how the book ends.
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This gem is the most challenging to obtain, as it is the legal document that establishes the company where you intend to work.
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This gem is the most challenging to obtain, as it is the legal document that establishes the company where you intend to work.
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It appears that the Duke, who is a very charming, kindly man, has, like myself, a passion both for cathedral architecture and for organ music; he dwelt much upon Burgos, which he called the gem of Spanish cathedrals.
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Update: Wildwood, N.J., director Ruth Leitman contacted me to say that she's thrilled about the attention this unreleased gem is receiving and that she's going to start to sell copies of the film via her site within the next few days.
fourfour: 2009
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Moreover, Dr. Duckor has long contended that many collectors do not realize that many 20th century gold coins are extreme condition rarities in gem uncirculated grades, MS-65 and higher.
20th Century Gold Club Holds Fascinating Meeting During FUN Convention : Coin Collecting News 2010
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The gist of this cinematic gem is that an ordinary family wins a rather unordinary prize -- a smart house, complete with a holographic live-in maid who does everything from cleaning to cooking to mothering this single-parent family.
Katie Hawkes: Smart Phone Phobia: One Millennial's Aversion to Creepy Technology Katie Hawkes 2010
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I realize that your current gem is lightyears ahead but I assume you started somewhere … any thoughts?
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Least we forget this gem from the Murtha thread: drhunt says:
ruzuzu commented on the word gem
"4. A type of muffin."
--American Heritage Dictionary
January 13, 2011