laureate

1 of 4

noun (1)

lau·​re·​ate ˈlȯr-ē-ət 

ˈlär-

: the recipient of honor or recognition for achievement in an art or science

a Nobel laureate

specifically : poet laureate

laureateship

ˈlȯr-ē-ət-ˌship 

ˈlär-

noun

laureate

2 of 4

verb

lau·​re·​ate ˈlȯr-ē-ˌāt 

ˈlär-

laureated; laureating

transitive verb

1

: to crown with or as if with a laurel wreath for excellence or achievement

2

: to appoint to the office of poet laureate

laureation

ˌlȯr-ē-ˈā-shən 

ˌlär-

noun

laureate

3 of 4

adjective

lau·​re·​ate ˈlȯr-ē-ət 

ˈlär-

1

: honored for outstanding achievement in an art or science

This was a term coined in the 1950s by Nobel laureate chemist Irving Langmuir …

—Gary Taubes

see also poet laureate

2

: crowned with laurel

Minted in France in 1807, the front of the medal shows the laureate head of Emperor Napoleon and, on the reverse, an eagle clutching a thunderbolt, part of the emperor's imperial seal.

—Brice Stump

laureation

4 of 4

noun (2)

lau·​re·​a·​tion ˌlȯrēˈāshən 

ˌlär-

plural -s

1

: an act of crowning with or as if with laurel as a mark of honor or achievement

2

archaic : the conferring of an academic degree

the right of laureation conceded to the University of Vienna by Maximilian I

—William Hamilton †1856

Examples of laureate in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

Noun

When mother and son sing songs from the famous cycle by Bengali writer-composer and Nobel laureate Rabindranath Tagore or hold a deathbed conversation in Bangla, the piece spins further across time and space. —Theater Critic, Los Angeles Times, 12 June 2026

The 1989 cult film, set in a Delhi architecture school in the mid-1970s, was written by and features Booker Prize laureate Arundhati Roy. —Naman Ramachandran, Variety, 9 June 2026

The statement was greeted by the event moderator and the other laureates as preposterous enough to make the simulation hypothesis seem reasonable by comparison. —Quanta Magazine, 8 June 2026

Nobel Peace Prize laureate Aung San Suu Kyi is 81. —ABC News, 2 June 2026

Word History

Etymology

Noun (1) and Verb

Middle English, crowned with laurel as a distinction, from Latin laureatus, from laurea laurel wreath, from feminine of laureus of laurel, from laurus

and Noun (2)

First Known Use

Noun (1)

circa 1529, in the meaning defined above

Verb

circa 1610, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Adjective

1508, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Phrases Containing laureate

• poet laureate

Rhymes for laureate

• baccalaureate

Kids Definition

laureate

noun

lau·​re·​ate

ˈlȯr-ē-ət, 

ˈlär-

: a person honored for achievement in an art or science

especially : poet laureate

laureate adjective