Crown Definition & Meaning | Britannica Dictionary (original) (raw)
Britannica Dictionary definition of CROWN
1
[count]
a
:
a decorative object that is shaped like a circle and worn on the head of a king or queen for special ceremonies
◊ Crowns are usually made of gold or silver and decorated with jewels.
b
:
a similar object worn by someone who is not an actual king or queen
- The winner of the beauty pageant walked down the runway wearing her sparkling crown.
c
:
a ring of leaves or flowers worn on the head of someone who has won a game, contest, or award
2
the crown
or
the Crown
:
the government of a country that is officially ruled by a king or queen
- the blessing of the Spanish crown
- allegiance to the crown
- She was appointed by the Crown.
3
the crown
:
the position of power that a king or queen has
- When the king died childless, his brother assumed the crown. [=his brother became king]
4
[count]
:
something (such as a badge or decoration) in the shape of a king's or queen's crown
- a jacket with a crown insignia on the pocket
5
[count]
:
the title or position held by the person who has won a particular competition
:
— usually singular
- If he loses this match, he'll lose the heavyweight boxing crown. [=he will no longer be the champion]
6
[count]
:
the part of a tooth that can be seen
- an artificial crown made of porcelain
7
[count]
:
the top of the head
— usually singular
- She has a big bump on the crown [=_top_] of her head.
8
[count]
:
the part of a hat that covers the top of the head
— usually singular
- The hat has a rounded crown and a wide brim.
— see picture at hat
9
[count]
:
the highest part of something (such as a tree or mountain)
- From the tower, we could see the crowns of the trees below.
10
[count]
a
:
a unit of money used in several European countries
- Norwegian crowns
b
:
an old British coin worth five shillings
— crown
adjective,
always used before a noun
- a crown appointee [=someone appointed by the government of a king or queen]
Britannica Dictionary definition of CROWN
[+ object]
1
:
to put a crown on (a new king, queen, etc.)
:
to give (someone) the power and title of a king or queen
— usually used as (be) crowned
- She was crowned queen at the age of 18.
2
:
to officially or formally give (someone) the title or position of a champion, winner, etc.
- The U.S. Open will crown a new champion Sunday. [=someone will be proclaimed champion at the U.S. Open championship]
- The magazine crowned her the new queen of rock-and-roll music.
3
:
to end (something) in a successful and impressive way
- She crowned her long and distinguished career by designing the city's beautiful new bridge.
4
literary
:
to be on top of (something)
:
to form the top of (something)
- Snow crowns the mountain year-round.
— usually used as (be) crowned
- The mountain is crowned with snow all year round.
- a hill crowned with yellow daffodils
- Her head is crowned by/with thick red hair.
5
:
to put an artificial crown on (a tooth)
- I broke a tooth and I'll have to have it crowned.
6
informal
:
to hit (someone) on the head
- He got crowned with a beer bottle.
— used to indicate the last and usually worst thing in a series of bad things that have happened
- It rained, it snowed, and, to crown it all [=_to top it off_], our flight was canceled.