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honour

American  
[on-er] / ˈɒn ər /

noun

Chiefly British.
  1. honor.


honour 1 British  
/ ˈɒnə /

noun

  1. personal integrity; allegiance to moral principles

    1. fame or glory

    2. a person or thing that wins this for another

      he is an honour to the school

  2. (often plural) great respect, regard, esteem, etc, or an outward sign of this

  3. (often plural) high or noble rank

  4. a privilege or pleasure

    it is an honour to serve you

  5. a woman's virtue or chastity

    1. bridge poker any of the top five cards in a suit or any of the four aces at no trumps

    2. whist any of the top four cards

  6. golf the right to tee off first

    1. to pay homage to

    2. to be a credit to

    1. to serve as host or hostess

    2. to perform a social act, such as carving meat, proposing a toast, etc

  7. slang:school an exclamation pledging honour

  8. under a moral obligation

  9. out of respect for

  10. on the pledge of one's word or good name

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

verb

  1. to hold in respect or esteem

  2. to show courteous behaviour towards

  3. to worship

  4. to confer a distinction upon

  5. to accept and then pay when due (a cheque, draft, etc)

  6. to keep (one's promise); fulfil (a previous agreement)

  7. to bow or curtsy to (one's dancing partner)

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012
Honour 2 British  
/ ˈɒnə /

noun

    1. a title used to or of certain judges

    2. (in Ireland) a form of address in general use

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Spelling

See -or 1.

Other Word Forms

Etymology

Origin of honour

C12: from Old French onor, from Latin honor esteem

Explanation

Honour is the British English spelling of the word "honor." Honour means respect or prestige. If a teacher wants her students to treat her with honour, she has to be worthy of it, showing them the respect they deserve. An honour is also a tangible award that you are given for some accomplishment. If your grades are great, you might receive an honour at the academic awards banquet. As a verb, honour means to show a high amount of respect. In traditional wedding vows, both the bride and groom promise to love and honour each other.

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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:

"If the government does not honour the agreement and release everyone detained or arrested, we will be compelled to resume the protest," Ashutosh Ranka, a spokesperson of the CJP told reporters.

From Barron's Jul. 27, 2026

The Manchester rapper has been pursuing some of these tasks to raise awareness and money for the Down's Syndrome Association in honour of his younger sister Gracie, who has the condition.

From BBC Jul. 26, 2026

Donaldson was awarded the honour in the Queen's Birthday Honours list in 2016.

From BBC Jul. 23, 2026

In a statement on social media, he said he was "delighted" to join the UK government and it had been "an honour" to serve people in Glasgow, where he was an MSP, and across Scotland.

From BBC Jul. 22, 2026

“I give you my word of honour that last night Helena never left her compartment. She took a sleeping draught exactly as I said. She is utterly and entirely innocent.”

From "Murder on the Orient Express" by Agatha Christie

Instead, Swift's brother Austin Swift served as her Man of Honour and retired American footballer Jason Kelce was the groom's Best Man.

From BBC Jul. 4, 2026

Acclaimed worldwide, Britain made him a Companion of Honour in 1997.

From Barron's Jun. 12, 2026

Iceman's gone in straight at number one on the weekly UK official albums charts, with Maid of Honour at six and Habibti and seven.

From BBC May 22, 2026

Her Honour Judge Kate Rayfield told Mackay she had "ploughed on" despite White's "frantic" pleas for her to stop.

From BBC May 18, 2026

She had nearly wore out the page erasing Enoch Rucker Blakeslee married Love Honour Simpson on July 5,1906.

From "Cold Sassy Tree" by Olive Ann Burns

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