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

---

Etymology

Origin of Iron Cross

First recorded in 1870–75

Example Sentences

Already, German tanks and armored personnel carriers, emblazoned with the military’s black Iron Cross insignia, are training in Lithuania’s Rudninkai forest close to the border with Belarus, Russia’s closest ally.

From The Wall Street Journal • Feb. 12, 2026

The family do not know why Brixius had been awarded the Iron Cross but, because it was given in September 1939, it was assumed it was for action over Poland or the Sudetenland.

From BBC • Oct. 22, 2023

Emblazoned with the Iron Cross, the 64-ton vehicles kicked up clouds of dust as they roared past the bunker and disappeared into a recess, which was strewn with nonworking anti-tank mines.

From New York Times • Jan. 24, 2023

“On the Camino, they tell you to bring a small rock or pebble to leave at an Iron Cross monument at the highest point in the trek,” Harkess said.

From Washington Times • Jun. 27, 2020

For his bravery and sacrifice, Emil Durr was awarded the Knight’s Cross, the highest grade of the Iron Cross medal, after his death.

From "Hitler Youth: Growing Up in Hitler's Shadow" by Susan Campbell Bartoletti