honor
Americannoun
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honors
plural
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honesty, fairness, or integrity in one's beliefs and actions.
a man of honor.
- Synonyms:
- uprightness, probity
- Antonyms:
- dishonesty, dishonor
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a source of credit or distinction.
to be an honor to one's family.
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high respect, as for worth, merit, or rank.
to be held in honor.
- Synonyms:
- veneration, reverence, homage, deference
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such respect manifested.
a memorial in honor of the dead.
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high public esteem; fame; glory.
He has earned his position of honor.
- Synonyms:
- distinction
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the privilege of being associated with or receiving a favor from a respected person, group, organization, etc..
I had the honor of serving on the Pulitzer Prize jury.
It is an honor to introduce this evening's speaker.
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Usually honors. evidence, as a special ceremony, decoration, scroll, or title, of high rank, dignity, or distinction.
political honors;
military honors.
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Honor, a deferential title of respect, especially for judges and mayors (preceded by His, Her, Your, etc.).
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honors,
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special rank or distinction conferred by a university, college, or school upon a student for eminence in scholarship or success in some particular subject.
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an advanced course of study for superior students.
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especially historically, chastity or purity in a woman.
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Also called honor card. Cards.
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Bridge. any of the five highest trump cards, as an ace, king, queen, jack, or ten in the trump suit, or any of the four aces in a no-trump contract.
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Whist. any of the four highest trump cards, as an ace, king, queen, or jack in the trump suit.
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Golf. the privilege of teeing off before the other player or side, given after the first hole to the player or side that won the previous hole.
verb (used with object)
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honors,
present (3rd person singular)
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honored,
past participle, past
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honoring
present participle
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to hold in honor or high respect; revere.
to honor one's parents.
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to treat with honor.
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to confer honor or distinction upon.
The university honored her with its leadership award.
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to worship, glorify, or serve (a deity).
Believers honor Hanuman as the embodiment of strength and courage.
May he grow to be a man who loves and honors God.
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to show a courteous regard for.
to honor an invitation.
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Commerce. to accept or pay (a draft, check, etc.).
All credit cards are honored here.
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to accept as valid and conform to the request or demands of (an official document).
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(in square dancing) to meet or salute with a bow.
adjective
idioms
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do honor to,
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to show respect to.
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to be a credit to.
Such good students would do honor to any teacher.
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do the honors, to serve or preside as host, as in introducing people, or carving or serving at table.
Father did the honors at the family Thanksgiving dinner.
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be on / upon one's honor, to accept and acknowledge personal responsibility for one's actions.
West Point cadets are on their honor not to cheat on an exam.
noun
Synonym Usage
Honor, honesty, integrity, sincerity refer to the highest moral principles and the absence of deceit or fraud. Honor denotes a fine sense of, and a strict conformity to, what is considered morally right or due: a high sense of honor; on one's honor. Honesty denotes the presence of probity and particularly the absence of deceit or fraud, especially in business dealings: uncompromising honesty and trustworthiness. Integrity indicates a soundness of moral principle that no power or influence can impair: a man of unquestioned integrity and dependability. Sincerity implies absence of dissimulation or deceit, and a strong adherence to truth: His sincerity was evident in every word. Honor, consideration, distinction refer to the regard in which one is held by others. Honor suggests a combination of liking and respect: His colleagues held him in great honor. Consideration suggests honor because of proved worth: a man worthy of the highest consideration. Distinction suggests particular honor because of qualities or accomplishments: She achieved distinction as a violinist at an early age.
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
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honorernoun
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overhonorverb (used with object)
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rehonorverb (used with object)
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honorlessadjective
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self-honoredadjective
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unhonoredadjective
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
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honorsimple
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honorssimple
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have honoredperfect
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has honoredperfect
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am honoringprogressive
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are honoringprogressive
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is honoringprogressive
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have been honoringperfect progressive
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has been honoringperfect progressive
Past
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honoredsimple
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had honoredperfect
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was honoringprogressive
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were honoringprogressive
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had been honoringperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of honor
First recorded in 1150–1200; Middle English noun (h)onour, (h)onor, from Old French (h)onor, onur, from Latin honōr- (stem of honor, earlier honōs); verb ultimately derivative of the noun
Explanation
Honor has many uses, all of them good. If you are called a man of honor, you are respected. If someone honors you, they recognize and award you for your achievements. The term honor has always been a word used to describe men and women of high moral worth or great achievement. It can be used as either a noun or verb, and in many different settings. People graduate from college with honor, meaning they have outstanding grades. A woman of honor is pure and decent. Soldiers are buried with full military honors, which means they are given gun salutes and trumpet calls and the nation's fullest respect.
Vocabulary lists containing honor
Veterans Day Vocabulary
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A Graduation Lexicon
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"Rikki-Tikki-Tavi" by Rudyard Kipling
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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:
His successor, Harry Truman, made it a permanent federal facility and then, after he took office in 1953, Dwight Eisenhower renamed it Camp David in honor of his young grandson.
From Salon ● Oct. 10, 2026
In honor of the magazine’s 30th birthday, my colleagues have compiled a list of lists to keep you company over the long weekend:
From Slate ● Oct. 9, 2026
First held in 1949, the Emmys honor achievements in acting, writing, and production, serving as a primary showcase for the global television industry.
From BBC ● Oct. 6, 2026
To Hamilton and his contemporaries, public credit meant not government bonds, like the trillions’ worth afloat today, but the reputation and honor of the government that issues them.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 2, 2026
“Now that these dear companions may no longer walk with you, will you not do my daughter and me the great honor of accompanying us?”
From "The Hiding Place" by Corrie ten Boom
Yes, Mr. Brady won a record seven Super Bowls, earning MVP honors in five of them.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 9, 2026
“I went from being an English learner to an honors student over the summer,” Khames, now a law student at UC Davis, said during an April hearing in Sacramento.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 28, 2026
She was reclassified only after requesting help during a school board meeting when she was in eighth grade — a change that immediately opened up more rigorous classes, including honors English.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 28, 2026
It honors the courage to keep scientific inquiry faithful to its principles.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 13, 2026
In 1843, he attempted an honors exam in mathematics, but suffered a nervous breakdown and returned home to recuperate.
From "The Gene" by Siddhartha Mukherjee
The trio were honored "for their discovery of a molecular switch for nerve cells," the Nobel Assembly said.
From Barron's ● Oct. 6, 2026
“I had to take a minute to take that in, and I thought, ‘I’d be honored.
From MarketWatch ● Oct. 5, 2026
While some claims are honored, many aren’t, said Prokopenko.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 26, 2026
“I feel like my vision of the book is being honored, which is really meaningful. Part of the reason that’s so important to me is because I want to honor my readers’ connection to it.”
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 17, 2026
Her commander wrote a recommendation for her to be posthumously honored as a Hero of the Soviet Union.
From "A Thousand Sisters" by Elizabeth Wein
His oldest son, Noah, 18, said that he had forced himself to confront his father’s death, however painful it was, because doing otherwise was “not honoring him and what he went through.”
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 10, 2026
The two were seen together during the inauguration, including at an event honoring the Greek American community where Marafatsos stood behind her as she spoke.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 25, 2026
“Over the past few days, I have listened closely to the conversations, concerns, and heartfelt feedback shared across our community following my presentation honoring Chris Brown with a state resolution,” Jones said.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 17, 2026
His passing was not unexpected, but honoring his simple, decent memory is very important to me in the days and years ahead.
From MarketWatch ● Sep. 11, 2026
This was their way of honoring the dead.
From "Watership Down: A Novel" by Richard Adams
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.
