Jump To:

• crown
  crown

  noun

  any of various types of headgear worn by a monarch as a symbol of sovereignty, often made of precious metal and ornamented with valuable gems.
• Crown
  Crown

  noun

  the sovereignty or realm of a monarch

crown

American  

[kroun] / kraʊn /

noun

• crowns
  plural

1. any of various types of headgear worn by a monarch as a symbol of sovereignty, often made of precious metal and ornamented with valuable gems.

2. a similar ornamental headgear worn by a person designated king or queen in a pageant, contest, etc.

3. an ornamental wreath or circlet for the head, conferred by the ancients as a mark of victory, athletic or military distinction, etc.

4. the distinction that comes from a great achievement.

5. the power or dominion of a sovereign.

6. (often initial capital letter) the sovereign as head of the state, or the supreme governing power of a state under a monarchical government.

7. any crownlike emblem or design, as in a heraldic crest.

8. the top or highest part of anything, as of a hat or a mountain.

9. the top of the head.

   Jack fell down and broke his crown.

10. Dentistry.

    1. the part of a tooth that is covered by enamel.

    2. an artificial substitute, as of gold or porcelain, for the crown of a tooth.

11. the highest point of any construction of convex section or outline, as an arch, vault, deck, or road.

12. the highest or most nearly perfect state of anything.

13. an exalting or chief attribute.

14. the acme or supreme source of honor, excellence, beauty, etc.

15. something having the form of a crown, as the corona of a flower.

16. Botany.

    1. the leaves and living branches of a tree.

    2. the point at which the root of a seed plant joins the stem.

    3. a circle of appendages on the throat of the corolla; corona.

17. the crest, as of a bird.

18. Architecture.

    1. a termination of a tower consisting of a lanternlike steeple supported entirely by a number of flying buttresses.

    2. any ornamental termination of a tower or turret.

19. Also called button.  Horology. a knurled knob for winding a watch.

20. any of various coins bearing the figure of a crown or crowned head.

21. a former silver coin of the United Kingdom, equal to five shillings: retained in circulation equal to 25 new pence after decimalization in 1971.

22. the monetary unit of Denmark, Iceland, Norway, or Sweden: a krona or krone.

23. 1. the koruna of the former Czechoslovakia.

    2. the koruna of the Czech Republic.

24. a crimped metal bottle cap.

25. crown glass.

26. Cooking. crown roast.

27. Also called bezel, top.  Jewelry. the part of a cut gem above the girdle.

28. a drill bit consisting of a metal matrix holding diamond chips.

29. Also called head.  Nautical. the part of an anchor at which the arms join the shank.

30. Machinery.

    1. a slight convexity given to a pulley supporting a flat belt in order to center the belt.

    2. a slight convexity given to the outer faces of the teeth of two gears so that they mesh toward their centers rather than at the ends.

31. a size of printing paper, 15 × 20 inches (38 × 51 centimeters).

32. Nautical, Machinery. swallow.

33. Knots. a knot made by interweaving the strands at the end of a rope, often made as the beginning of a back splice or as the first stage in tying a more elaborate knot.

34. a crownpiece.

---

verb (used with object)

• crowns,
  present (3rd person singular)
• crowned,
  past participle,  past
• crowning
  present participle

1. to invest with a regal crown, or with regal dignity and power.

2. to place a crown or garland upon the head of.

3. to honor or reward; invest with honor, dignity, etc.

4. to be at the top or highest part of.

5. to complete worthily; bring to a successful or triumphant conclusion.

   The award crowned his career.

6. Informal. to hit on the top of the head.

   She crowned her brother with a picture book.

7. to give to (a construction) an upper surface of convex section or outline.

8. to cap (a tooth) with a false crown.

9. Checkers. to change (a checker) into a king after having safely reached the last row.

10. Knots. to form a crown on (the end of a rope).

verb (used without object)

• crowns,
  present (3rd person singular)
• crowned,
  past participle,  past
• crowning
  present participle

1. Medicine/Medical. (of a baby in childbirth) to reach a stage in delivery where the largest diameter of the fetal head is emerging from the pelvic outlet.

crown ¹ British  

/ kraʊn /

noun

1. an ornamental headdress denoting sovereignty, usually made of gold embedded with precious stones

2. a wreath or garland for the head, awarded as a sign of victory, success, honour, etc

3. (sometimes capital) monarchy or kingship

4. an award, distinction, or title, given as an honour to reward merit, victory, etc

5. anything resembling or symbolizing a crown, such as a sergeant major's badge or a heraldic bearing

6. 1. history a coin worth 25 pence (five shillings)

   2. any of several continental coins, such as the krona or krone, with a name meaning crown

7. the top or summit of something, esp of a rounded object

   crown of a hill

   crown of the head

8. the centre part of a road, esp when it is cambered

9. botany

   1. the leaves and upper branches of a tree

   2. the junction of root and stem, usually at the level of the ground

   3. another name for corona

10. zoology

    1. the cup and arms of a crinoid, as distinct from the stem

    2. the crest of a bird

11. the outstanding quality, achievement, state, etc

    the crown of his achievements

12. 1. the enamel-covered part of a tooth above the gum

    2. a substitute crown, usually of gold, porcelain, or acrylic resin, fitted over a decayed or broken tooth

13. the part of a cut gem above the girdle

14. horology a knurled knob for winding a watch

15. the part of an anchor where the arms are joined to the shank

16. the highest part of an arch or vault

17. a standard size of printing paper, 15 by 20 inches

---

verb

1. to put a crown on the head of, symbolically vesting with royal title, powers, etc

2. to place a crown, wreath, garland, etc, on the head of

3. to place something on or over the head or top of

   he crowned the pie with cream

4. to confer a title, dignity, or reward upon

   he crowned her best cook

5. to form the summit or topmost part of

   the steeple crowned the tower

6. to cap or put the finishing touch to a series of events

   to crown it all it rained, too

7. draughts to promote (a draught) to a king by placing another draught on top of it, as after reaching the end of the board

8. to attach a crown to (a tooth)

9. slang to hit over the head

Crown ² British  

/ kraʊn /

noun

1. the sovereignty or realm of a monarch

2. 1. the government of a constitutional monarchy

   2. ( as modifier )

      Crown property

---

crown Cultural  

1. The part of a tooth above the gum, covered with enamel.

---

Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• recrown
  verb (used with object)
• crownless
  adjective

Inflected Forms

Nouns

• crowns
  plural

Participles

• crowning
  present
• crowned
  past

Conjugated Forms

Present

• crown
  simple
• crowns
  simple
• have crowned
  perfect
• has crowned
  perfect
• am crowning
  progressive
• are crowning
  progressive
• is crowning
  progressive
• have been crowning
  perfect progressive
• has been crowning
  perfect progressive

Past

• crowned
  simple
• had crowned
  perfect
• was crowning
  progressive
• were crowning
  progressive
• had been crowning
  perfect progressive

Future

• will crown
  simple
• will have crowned
  perfect
• will be crowning
  progressive
• will have been crowning
  perfect progressive

Etymology

Origin of crown

First recorded in 1125–75; Middle English coroune, cr(o)une, from Anglo-French coroune, from Latin corōna “wreath”; see corona

Explanation

A crown is a fancy, round ornament worn on the heads of kings and queens. To crown someone is to declare them a monarch or a champion. A crown is also a boring old top of something, like a tooth. Historically, a crown represented the country ruled by the monarch who wore it. In some cases, the person wearing a crown wasn't the king, but the head of a church, as most modern-day Catholic popes have done during certain ceremonies. Other kinds of crowns are the top of a hat or the top part of your head, and also the visible part of a tooth — or the artificial replacement made by a dentist.

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

crown Crown crowns crowned crowning

To crown the dual threat of falling demand and rising supply, policy uncertainty is also adding to upward pressure on rates.

From MarketWatch ● Aug. 7, 2026

The beginning of Infantino’s fall may have started last year at the White House when he and Portuguese star Cristiano Ronaldo attended a black-tie dinner to honor Saudi Arabia’s crown prince Mohammed bin Salman.

From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 4, 2026

After climbers reached the crown, they lowered a measuring tape from the highest point to the ground.

From Science Daily ● Aug. 4, 2026

During the renovation, a slip of paper containing the names of architects and plasters responsible for building the theatre was discovered in a glass bottle hidden behind a crown decoration.

From BBC ● Aug. 1, 2026

“Only...broken. Without the crown, the Mirror is useless. With it, we will have the Wicked Queen’s most powerful weapon in our paws!”

From "Half Upon a Time" by James Riley

St James Group Ltd and specialist contractors Lindner Prater Ltd were convicted at Inner London Crown Court of "failing to discharge a duty" under the Health and Safety at Work Act 1974.

From BBC ● Aug. 7, 2026

For all but one of the past 58 years, horse racing’s Triple Crown arrived at the same time on the calendar.

From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 5, 2026

“As a traditionalist, sentimentally it’s difficult to see the timing and structure of the Triple Crown being adjusted,” Aron Wellman, president of Eclipse Thoroughbred Partners, which co-owns Journalism, said in a phone interview.

From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 5, 2026

Both were sentenced to four years in prison at Manchester Minshull Street Crown Court on 24 June.

From BBC ● Aug. 4, 2026

Celaena scowled as the dance finished and the Crown Prince kissed the hand of the blond woman.

From "Throne of Glass" by Sarah J. Maas

James sparked the Miami Heat to NBA crowns in 2013 and 2014, brought his hometown Cleveland Cavaliers a title in 2016 and delivered a championship for the Lakers in 2020.

From Barron's ● Jul. 24, 2026

Still, portraying the process as essential, Bingham casts the painting in glowing light and crowns it with a blue sign that says “The will of the people the supreme law.”

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 20, 2026

Mira Costa defeated Huntington Beach to win the section and regional crowns while Loyola fell to the Oilers in the section semifinals and did not play in regionals.

From Los Angeles Times ● May 16, 2026

Williamson made her international debut in 2018 and has won 67 caps for England, captaining the Lionesses to back-to-back Women's Euros crowns in 2022 and 2025.

From BBC ● Apr. 30, 2026

Fire leapt from one tree to another, igniting the crowns of leaves.

From "The Reader" by Traci Chee

Newly crowned five-time Tour de France champion Tadej Pogacar will race in this month's Vuelta a Espana in an attempt to win all three of cycling's Grand Tours.

From BBC ● Aug. 3, 2026

The 13th series of the UK show ended on Monday, with Julia Majchrzak and Lorenzo Alessi crowned the winners.

From BBC ● Aug. 1, 2026

Until then, a new world champion will be crowned Saturday night, continuing a tradition that has become much more than a trend.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 31, 2026

He is now a far cry from when he was crowned the world’s first trillionaire last month.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 24, 2026

They imagined what it would be like for Imm Janan, their landlords sleepy wife, to discover her hen wearing a lavish robe, as if she'd been crowned queen at midnight.

From "Habibi" by Naomi Shihab Nye

A win down under last winter would have been the crowning glory of Stokes' career, only for the tour to fall apart on his watch.

From BBC ● Jun. 29, 2026

Carsley even used Alexander-Arnold at left-back in a 3-1 Nations League win at Finland in October 2024, crowning his performance with a superb free-kick.

From BBC ● Jun. 16, 2026

In a career that has taken the former London transport boss around the world, delivering a new Penn Station, he says, would be his crowning achievement: “To me, this is the daddy.”

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 13, 2026

Until recently, its crowning achievements were “shrinkflation,” where companies subtly reduce product sizes to raise unit prices, and “garbatrage,” when a takeover announcement sends shares of low-quality companies in the same industry higher.

From Barron's ● Jun. 12, 2026

This would be his crowning achievement—a thawing of Cold War tensions.

From "Fallout: Spies, Superbombs, and the Ultimate Cold War Showdown" by Steve Sheinkin

Related Words

• inaugurate
• induct