medallion

American  

[muh-dal-yuhn] / məˈdæl jən /

noun

medallions plural

1. a large medal.

2. anything resembling a medal in form, used as an ornament, in a design, etc.

3. a permit issued by a governmental agency to operate a taxicab, usually represented by a small metal identification disk displayed on the taxi.

4. Architecture.

   1. a tablet, usually rounded, often bearing objects represented in relief.

   2. a member in a decorative design resembling a panel.

5. médaillon.

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medallion British  

/ mɪˈdæljən /

noun

1. a large medal

2. an oval or circular decorative device resembling a medal, usually bearing a portrait or relief moulding, used in architecture and textile design

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Other Word Forms

Noun Inflected Forms

• medallions
  plural

Etymology

Origin of medallion

1650–60; < French médaillon < Italian medaglione, augmentative of medaglia medal

Explanation

A medallion is a very large metal pendant that's given as an award. The medallion you won when you finished that marathon must be one of your most cherished possessions. Medallions are extra big medals, discs of metal stamped with a design on both sides. When they're given to mark some achievement, medallions are often suspended from a ribbon that's hung around the recipient's neck or pinned to their clothing. Another kind of medallion is a small disc of boneless meat. And although most taxi drivers do deserve a medal, a taxi medallion is a permit to drive a cab.

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

medallion medallions

As if to underline the point, he wore a medallion around his neck featuring NBC’s peacock logo.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Feb. 12, 2026

Zhao, a woman sporting an intricately carved gold medallion on a necklace of jade beads and shimmering bangles on her wrist, brought her late grandfather's ring to the recycling machine.

From Barron's ● Feb. 1, 2026

Honorees will be the first to receive the updated ribbon and medallion, which production staff say will appear prominently in the televised broadcast, recorded this weekend and airing later this month on CBS.

From Salon ● Dec. 7, 2025

Also, they usually include a fireproof ID medallion that crematory operators attach to the body before burning.

From Los Angeles Times ● Mar. 4, 2025

One of the Fashion Minister's attendants slides his ermine-lined robe from his shoulders, exposing a gold medallion with his royal minister emblem.

From "The Belles" by Dhonielle Clayton

More than 2 pounds of honor cords, pins, stoles and medallions — a stash rivaling that of a supreme Allied commander — crashed to the dirt outside the 18-year-old’s Adelanto home.

From Los Angeles Times ● May 28, 2026

Rudyard Kipling was honored at a dinner at the club on April 2, 1898, where guests enjoyed beef fillet and lamb medallions alongside Chateau Mouton Rothschild, 1882 vintage, according to a menu preserved there.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Nov. 22, 2025

Throughout the railway village is museum-style signage explaining the history, and bronze medallions built into the pavement marking out new heritage trails.

From BBC ● Aug. 24, 2024

It appears on popular American medallions and challenge coins through today and Ben Franklin also adopted it to…

From Washington Times ● Aug. 29, 2023

And the soldiers wore the girls’ hats, one a tiny yellow straw boater with a bunch of daisies on the crown, the other a white knitted half-hat to which medallions of blue cellophane adhered.

From "Cannery Row" by John Steinbeck

Related Words

• emblem
• jewelry
• necklace