medal
Americannoun
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a flat piece of metal, often a disk but sometimes a cross, star, or other form, usually bearing an inscription or design, issued to commemorate a person, action, or event, or given as a reward for bravery, merit, or the like.
a gold medal for the best swimmer.
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a similar object bearing a religious image, as of a saint.
a Saint Christopher's medal.
verb (used with object)
verb (used without object)
noun
verb
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(tr) to honour with a medal
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informal (intr) (in sport) to win a medal
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
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medalsimple
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medalssimple
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have medaledperfect
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have medalledperfect
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has medaledperfect
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has medalledperfect
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am medalingprogressive
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am medallingprogressive
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are medalingprogressive
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are medallingprogressive
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is medalingprogressive
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is medallingprogressive
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have been medalingperfect progressive
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have been medallingperfect progressive
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has been medalingperfect progressive
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has been medallingperfect progressive
Past
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medaledsimple
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medalledsimple
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had medaledperfect
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had medalledperfect
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was medalingprogressive
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was medallingprogressive
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were medalingprogressive
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were medallingprogressive
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had been medalingperfect progressive
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had been medallingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of medal
1580–90; earlier medaille < Middle French < Italian medaglia copper coin worth a halfpenny < Vulgar Latin *medalia, variant (by dissimilation) of Late Latin mediālia, noun use of neuter plural (taken as feminine singular) of mediālis medial
Explanation
A medal is an award for some contest or achievement. You might win a medal for coming in third place at the cupcake baking championship. A medal is often a flat piece of metal that's stamped with an inscription or design and is given in honor of winning a race, serving in battle, or another remarkable accomplishment. Scholars, athletes, and soldiers all might win medals. Originally, a medal was a "trinket," and it wasn't until the 18th century that it began to mean "reward for merit."
Vocabulary lists containing medal
Commonly Confused Words, List 1
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This Week in Words: Current Events Vocab for July 31–August 6, 2021
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List 1
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
See Examples For:
Nearly 5,000 miles from her home, somewhere in Cameroon's capital, Madias Ngake suspects that in a drawer which is not hers, lies an Olympic medal which is.
From BBC ● Jul. 29, 2026
Ngake would love to add that to her London 2012 bronze – only Cameroon's sixth Olympic medal ever – and one that still remains in the country of her birth.
From BBC ● Jul. 29, 2026
As a result, she entered London 2012 with relatively low rank, which meant she was assigned to the B Final, with other athletes not considered to have realistic medal prospects.
From BBC ● Jul. 29, 2026
In 2025, she won a silver medal on the floor at the World Championships in Jakarta.
From BBC ● Jul. 28, 2026
“Hey, Kyle,” Miguel whispered as Dr. Zinchenko draped an Olympian medal around Marjory Muldauer’s neck.
From "Mr. Lemoncello's Library Olympics" by Chris Grabenstein
Now, after Welsh identical twins Abigail and Emily Roper won bronze medals within a couple of hours of each other on Monday, Evans has delivered gold.
From BBC ● Jul. 28, 2026
Scotland's most decorated Games has 14 medals of his own, but Evans now has her first after edging out her rivals in 100m breaststroke.
From BBC ● Jul. 26, 2026
Closer to home, she credits senior Indian boxers Nikhat Zareen, Lovlina Borgohain and Pooja Rani, not just for their medals but for the encouragement they offer younger athletes.
From BBC ● Jul. 26, 2026
In 2014, when the Commonwealth Games were last in Glasgow, a little-known teenage gymnast, Claudia Fragapane, became one of Britain's breakthrough stars as she won four gold medals on her debut.
From BBC ● Jul. 24, 2026
I could wave whatever medals and ribbons we got under Dad’s nose.
From "October Sky" by Homer Hickam
The dog that almost medaled at the Olympics.
From MarketWatch ● Feb. 19, 2026
As a pair “Tai and Randy” won five U.S. championships, medaled in three world championships and qualified for the Olympics twice, all before Babilonia’s 21st birthday.
From Los Angeles Times ● Feb. 1, 2026
“Obviously it wasn’t my best performances, but at the end of the day, whoever medaled, medaled, and that’s what’s so exciting, because you just never know with gymnastics,” she said.
From Salon ● Aug. 5, 2024
It wasn’t enough to keep the U.S. from heading home from the World Cup empty-handed, and after 87 years of waiting Canada has again medaled on one of basketball’s biggest stages.
From Washington Times ● Sep. 10, 2023
Word must’ve spread that unless one of the other medaled teams miraculously swept the final three competitions, the championship was down to two true contenders.
From "Mr. Lemoncello's Library Olympics" by Chris Grabenstein
I doubt I had ever seen so many uniformed, braided and medalled men under one roof.
From BBC ● Nov. 6, 2018
And so to the IAAF, now ruled by the World Anti-Doping Agency’s almost comically damning report to have medalled in cheating and corruption.
From The Guardian ● Jan. 15, 2016
"For Deibold to medal is a testament to how strong our team is, because any of us could have medalled."
From Reuters ● Feb. 18, 2014
"I can happily say that I have been in four Olympic Games finals, which is incredible, and I'm glad that I've medalled in four as well," she said.
From The Guardian ● Aug. 3, 2012
Then there was a rather fierce-looking Red Ribbon, medalled as well as be-starred, and the Red Ribbon's wife, with a blushing daughter, in spite of her parentage not yet accustomed to stand fire.
From Some Diversions of a Man of Letters by Gosse, Edmund
With one surgically rebuilt knee and a completely torn ACL in the other, the 41-year-old Vonn gutted her way to the starting gate and had a real chance of medaling before her violent crash.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Feb. 14, 2026
Olympic and Paralympic Committee does pay Team USA athletes for medaling but not for competing in the Olympics, although they can apply for grants to support their training and travel.
From Slate ● Aug. 9, 2024
The finalists who came close to medaling were:
From Seattle Times ● Jun. 5, 2023
In Tokyo, the Americans’ execution scores on each apparatus were mostly similar to the medaling teams.
From Washington Post ● Aug. 17, 2022
I jumped right up and finished the event, but I knew I had no chance of medaling now.
From "Courage to Soar" by Simone Biles
The United States finished with 69 points with Japan scoring 68 and Italy medalling for the first time in the team event with 60.
From Barron's ● Feb. 8, 2026
So in terms of "medalling" the countries, it has to be bronze to the Netherlands, silver to Jamaica and shiny gold to the Czech Republic.
From The Guardian ● Aug. 6, 2012
Twitter users have spent days exploiting the Scooby Doo-inspired "we could have got gold if it wasn't for you medalling kids" gag.
From BBC ● Aug. 6, 2012
"It is rather a dangerous pastime, Mr. Lenoir, this medalling fancy of yours," he said.
From Jack Harkaway's Boy Tinker Among The Turks Book Number Fifteen in the Jack Harkaway Series by Hemyng, Bracebridge
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
