medal
Americannoun
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medals
plural
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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)
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medals,
present (3rd person singular)
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medaled,
past participle, past
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medalled,
past participle, past (especially British)
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medaling,
present participle
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medalling
present participle (especially British)
verb (used without object)
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medals,
present (3rd person singular)
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medaled,
past participle, past
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medalled,
past participle, past (especially British)
-
medaling,
present participle
-
medalling
present participle (especially British)
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
-
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
-
medalledsimple
-
had medaledperfect
-
had medalledperfect
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was medalingprogressive
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was medallingprogressive
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were medalingprogressive
-
were medallingprogressive
-
had been medalingperfect progressive
-
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:
One week out from the world-renowned Sydney Marathon, organisers face questions about whether designers etched the wrong city's stadium on the participation medal.
From BBC ● Aug. 22, 2026
"I was wearing my medal on the plane home and then all the way on the train from Euston station to Rhyl," he said.
From BBC ● Aug. 20, 2026
Amy Hunt and Dina Asher-Smith made history and Georgia Hunter Bell claimed a commanding 1500m gold as Great Britain maintained their bid to top the final medal table at the European Championships.
From BBC ● Aug. 16, 2026
That was Great Britain's ninth gold medal, taking them above Italy at the top of the standings - and the team's 16th overall.
From BBC ● Aug. 16, 2026
“Nice to have my silver medal back!” jeered the owl.
From "Redwall" by Brian Jacques
Six weeks later, with his parents supporting him, Mark competed in the British Championships, winning five gold medals and setting five new British records.
From BBC ● Aug. 20, 2026
As well as being a Rugby World Cup winner in 2021, Tui has Olympic gold and silver medals from the sevens game.
From BBC ● Aug. 19, 2026
Conversely, the men's team have thrice finished among the Pro League medals since 2022, and won European silver in 2023.
From BBC ● Aug. 18, 2026
The Baltimore-area native won a record 28 medals, including 23 gold, over the course of five Olympic Games.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 17, 2026
I’d also earned more Worlds medals than any other woman in the history of the sport, which put me in the record books—and made me a favorite to make the USA Olympics team.
From "Courage to Soar" by Simone Biles
The dog that almost medaled at the Olympics.
From MarketWatch ● Feb. 19, 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
The U.S. has medaled in nine of the 12 finals in Paris, winning two golds and 11 medals overall, nearly double the total of second-place Australia, which has six.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 29, 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
"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
But few athletes were described as having medalled, and none of having podiumed.
From The Guardian ● Aug. 10, 2012
"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
He's medalled and ribboned, and starred and crossed, and I don't-know-what all'd, like a born nobleman.
From Little Dorrit by Charles Dickens
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
In Tokyo, the Americans’ execution scores on each apparatus were mostly similar to the medaling teams.
From Washington Post ● Aug. 17, 2022
He started on the lower-level North American Cup circuit, racing 16 times between Nov. 7 and Dec. 20 and medaling in every race — seven golds, seven silvers, two bronzes.
From Seattle Times ● Feb. 19, 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 Bracebridge Hemyng
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.
