jade
- 1A hard green or white stone used to carve small statues and jewelry.
Like a smooth, hard stone you can polish until it shines.
The carver shaped a small dragon from a single piece of jade.
Her necklace was set with a polished oval of green jade.
UsageSay made of jade.
- 2Having a grayish-green color, like jade stone.
Her jade sweater stood out against the snow.
They painted the old fence a jade green.
UsageSay jade green.
Similarceladon
- 3A bright green color with a little blue or gray in it.
He chose jade for the kitchen cabinets.
The dress came in a soft jade that suited her perfectly.
- 4To make a person or animal very tired.
Like walking so far that your legs feel too heavy to lift.
Months of nonstop overtime can jade even the hardest worker.
The dull, repetitive lessons jaded the students.
UsageOften used as jaded, as in jaded by too much work.
Similartire, exhaust, weary, fatigue, wear
Oppositerefresh, invigorate, revive, energize
Note
- 5A small houseplant with thick leaves that needs very little water.
Like a tiny tree that stores water inside its fat leaves.
She kept a jade on the windowsill where it got plenty of sun.
My jade dropped a leaf that soon grew roots of its own.
UsageAlso called a jade plant.
Less common meanings
- 6To treat someone badly or push them away.
The nere-yet beaten Horſe of Parthia, / We haue iaded out o'th' Field.
c. 1606, William Shakespeare, “The Tragedie of Anthonie and Cleopatra”Here, jaded means scornfully driven off, like a worn-out horse.Note
- 7To make a person look foolish and not worth respect.
I do not now foole my ſelfe, to let imagination iade mee; for euery reaſon excites to this, that my Lady loues me.
c. 1601, William Shakespeare, “Twelfe Night, or What You Will”Here, jade means make me look foolish.Note
- 8An unkind word for a woman who is rude or behaves badly.
You alwayes end with a iades tricke, I knowe you of olde.
1598, William Shakespeare, Much Adoe about Nothing. - 9An old, tired, or poor-quality horse, often one that has been worked too hard.
My horse would have trotted to Clifton within the hour, if left to himself, and I have almost broke my arm with pulling him in to that cursed broken-winded jade’s pace.
1803, [Jane Austen], Northanger Abbey
Showing meanings only.
Practice
Can you tell the meanings of jade apart? Answer 3 quick questions from this page, or write your own sentence and AI will check it.
Origins
It came from French 'jade', and before that from Spanish words meaning 'flank stone', because people thought jade could cure pains in the side.
Checked 31 Oct 2026 · 3 facts
- The stone name jade was borrowed from French jade. en.wiktionary.org
- The French word ultimately came from Spanish words meaning 'flank stone'. en.wiktionary.org
- The name reflects a belief that jade could cure pains in the side. en.wiktionary.org
It came from Middle English 'jade', linked to 'yaud', which came from Old Norse 'jalda' meaning 'mare'.
Checked 31 Oct 2026 · 3 facts
- This sense of jade comes from Middle English jade. en.wiktionary.org
- Jade is linked to yaud through variation or influence. en.wiktionary.org
- Yaud derives from Old Norse jalda, meaning mare. en.wiktionary.org