crown

1 of 2

noun

ˈkrau̇n 

often attributive

1

: a reward of victory or mark of honor

especially : the title representing the championship in a sport

2

: a royal or imperial headdress or cap of sovereignty : diadem

3

: the highest part: such as

a

: the topmost part of the skull or head

b

: the summit of a mountain

c

: the head of foliage of a tree or shrub

d

: the part of a hat or other headgear covering the crown of the head

e

: the part of a tooth external to the gum or an artificial substitute for this see tooth illustration

4

: a wreath, band, or circular ornament for the head

5

a

: something resembling a wreath or crown

b

: the knurled cap on top of a watch stem

6

often capitalized

a(1)

: imperial or regal power : sovereignty

(2)

: the government under a constitutional monarchy

b

: monarch

7

: something that imparts splendor, honor, or finish : culmination

8

a

: any of several old gold coins with a crown as part of the device

b

: an old usually silver British coin worth five shillings

9

a

: koruna

b

: krona

c

: krone

d

: kroon

10

a

: the region of a seed plant at which stem and root merge

b

: the arching end of the shank of an anchor where the arms join it see anchor illustration

crowned

ˈkrau̇nd 

adjective

crownless

ˈkrau̇n-ləs 

adjective

crown

2 of 2

verb

crowned; crowning; crowns

transitive verb

1

a

: to place a crown or wreath on the head of

specifically : to invest with regal dignity and power

b

: to recognize officially as

they crowned her athlete of the year

c

: to award a championship to

crown a new champion

2

: to bestow something on as a mark of honor or recompense : adorn

3

: surmount, top

especially : to top (a checker) with a checker to make a king

4

: to bring to a successful conclusion : climax

the role that crowned her career

5

: to provide with something like a crown: such as

a

: to fill so that the surface forms a crown

b

: to put an artificial crown on (a tooth)

6

: to hit on the head

intransitive verb

1

of a forest fire : to burn rapidly through the tops of trees

2

in childbirth : to appear and begin to emerge headfirst or crown first at the vaginal opening

the baby's head crowned

Synonyms

Noun

• chaplet
• coronal
• coronel
• coronet
• diadem

Verb

• cap (off)
• climax
• culminate

Examples of crown in a Sentence

Noun

The winner of the beauty pageant walked down the runway wearing her sparkling crown.

the blessing of the Spanish crown

She was appointed by the Crown.

Verb

The magazine crowned her the new queen of rock-and-roll music.

She crowned her long and distinguished career by designing the city's beautiful new bridge.

Recent Examples on the Web

Noun

According to a statement from Museum West Zealand, researchers recognized the ruler’s visage from the figure’s signature wavy hair and decorative crown of twisted ram horns. —Julia Binswanger, Smithsonian Magazine, 25 Apr. 2024

Denver has, of course, Nikola Jokic and his unofficial crown as the best player in the league. —Dan Woike, Los Angeles Times, 20 Apr. 2024

Word History

Etymology

Noun

Middle English coroune, croune, borrowed from Anglo-French corone, coroune, going back to Latin corōna "wreath, garland worn on the head as a mark of honor or emblem of majesty," borrowed from Greek korṓnē "crow, seabird (perhaps a shearwater), any of various curved or hooked objects (as a door handle or tip of a bow), kind of crown," perhaps formed from an original n-stem nominative *kor-ōn "crow, seabird," from a base *kor- — more at cornice

Note: Old English corona "crown," a weak noun borrowed directly from Latin, may have been replaced by the Anglo-French word if it was continued into Middle English at all. Ancient Greek korṓnē, though marginally attested in the meaning "crown, garland" (as something bent or curved?), is nonetheless presumed to be the source of the Latin word; aside from a gloss "kind of crown" (eîdos stephánou) by the lexicographer Hesychius, this sense is known only from a single fragment, of doubtful interpretation, by Sophron of Syracuse, a writer of mime. As both Sophron and the lyric poet Stesichorus, who used the derivative korōnís "garland," wrote in Doric, it is possible that the meaning "garland," whatever its origin, was peculiar to western dialects of Greek and hence transmitted to Latin.

Verb

Middle English corounen, crounen, borrowed from Anglo-French coroner, corouner, going back to Latin corōnare "to deck with garlands, wreath, encircle," derivative of corōna "wreathe, garland worn on the head as a mark of honor or emblem of majesty" — more at crown entry 1

First Known Use

Noun

12th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Verb

12th century, in the meaning defined at transitive sense 1a

Phrases Containing crown

• crown colony
• crown court
• crown gall
• crown glass
• crown jewel
• crown land
• crown molding
• crown of thorns
• crown prince
• crown princess
• crown roast
• crown rust
• crown vetch
• half crown
• jewel in the crown
• the crown
• to crown it all

Kids Definition

crown

1 of 2 noun

ˈkrau̇n 

1

a

: a wreath or band for the head especially as a mark of victory or honor

b

: the title representing a sports championship

the heavyweight crown

2

: a royal headdress

3

a

: the top of the head

b

: the highest part (as of a mountain or tree)

c

: the part of a hat covering the crown of the head

d

: the part of a tooth outside of the gum

4

: something resembling a crown

5

often capitalized

a

: royal power or authority

b

: the executive part of the British government

6

: any of various coins (as an old British coin worth five shillings)

crowned

ˈkrau̇nd 

adjective

crownlike

ˈkrau̇n-ˌlīk

adjective

crown

2 of 2 verb

1

a

: to place a crown on

especially : to make sovereign

b

: to declare officially to be

was crowned champion

2

a

: top entry 2 sense 2

snow crowned the mountain's peak

b

: to top a checker with a checker to make a king

3

: to bring to a successful conclusion : finish off : complete

4

of a forest fire : to burn rapidly through the tops of trees

Medical Definition

crown

1 of 2 noun

ˈkrau̇n 

1

: the topmost part of the skull or head

2

: the part of a tooth external to the gum or an artificial substitute for this

crown

2 of 2 transitive verb

: to put an artificial crown on (a tooth)

intransitive verb

in childbirth : to appear at the vaginal opening

—used of the first part (as the crown of the head) of the infant to appear

an anesthetic was given when the head crowned