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Iron Cross

American  

noun

  1. a German medal awarded for outstanding bravery or service during wartime.

  2. (lowercase) an upright, crosslike position held between the rings, with the arms fully extended laterally and the legs held together and pointed downward.

Iron Cross British  

noun

  1. the highest decoration for bravery awarded to the German armed forces in wartime: instituted in 1813

"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

Etymology

Origin of Iron Cross

First recorded in 1870–75

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.