Victoria Cross

American  

noun

1. a British decoration awarded to soldiers and sailors for acts of conspicuous bravery in the presence of the enemy. V.C.

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Victoria Cross British  

noun

1. the highest decoration for gallantry in the face of the enemy awarded to the British and Commonwealth armed forces: instituted in 1856 by Queen Victoria

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Etymology

Origin of Victoria Cross

First recorded in 1855–60

Example Sentences

Roberts-Smith - who the year before had been awarded the Commonwealth's highest military honour, the Victoria Cross - went looking for him in a village called Darwan two weeks later.

From BBC • Apr. 17, 2026

Roberts-Smith won the Victoria Cross -- Australia's highest military honour -- for "conspicuous gallantry" in Afghanistan while on the hunt for a senior Taliban commander.

From Barron's • Apr. 7, 2026

Others buried there include a recipient of the Victoria Cross, George Wheeler, and the grandfather of the actress Charlotte Rampling – Sapper Harris Johnson Rampling.

From BBC • Nov. 8, 2025

Corporal Sidney Bates posthumously received Britain's Victoria Cross for "supreme gallantry" after repeatedly charging a critical German position with a light machine gun before dying of his wounds.

From Reuters • Nov. 12, 2023

Brodie won the Victoria Cross for exceptional gallantry.

From The First Seven Divisions Being a Detailed Account of the Fighting from Mons to Ypres by Hamilton, Ernest W.