ovation
Americannoun
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an enthusiastic public reception of a person, marked especially by loud and prolonged applause.
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Roman History. the ceremonial entrance into Rome of a commander whose victories were of a lesser degree of importance than that for which a triumph was accorded.
noun
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an enthusiastic reception, esp one of prolonged applause
a standing ovation
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a victory procession less glorious than a triumph awarded to a Roman general
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Etymology
Origin of ovation
1525–35; < Latin ovātiōn- (stem of ovātiō ) a rejoicing, shouting, equivalent to ovāt ( us ) (past participle of ovāre to rejoice) + -iōn- -ion
Explanation
Hear that applause and cries of "Bravo"? Your audience is giving you an ovation, or praise for a great performance. The noun ovation has origins in the Latin word ovare, meaning "exult, rejoice, triumph.” Ancient Romans used it to describe a ceremony honoring a general entering Rome following a minor triumph. By the 19th century, ovation had taken on the more specific meaning, "a display of appreciation and applause from an audience." Today, especially great performers get standing ovations, which means the audience rises from their seats as they clap.
Vocabulary lists containing ovation
Stargirl
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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.
A similar ovation came more than 90 minutes later after Williams clinched a tiebreaker to win the second set and force a third.
From Los Angeles Times • Jun. 30, 2026
Serena Williams receives a standing ovation from the Centre Court crowd as she walks out to play at Wimbledon for the first time in four years.
From BBC • Jun. 30, 2026
As she and Joint entered the court, Williams received a standing ovation from a crowd that included her husband, Alexis Ohanian, their daughters, Olympia, 8, and Adira, 2, and her sister/doubles partner, Venus Williams.
From Los Angeles Times • Jun. 30, 2026
Ochoa replaced starter Raúl Rangel and was greeted with a standing ovation from a large portion of the 80,824 fans at Azteca Stadium.
From Los Angeles Times • Jun. 25, 2026
The nuns had been flattered, the audience had stood up and given "our devoted teachers a standing ovation," what Laura had suggested they do at the end of the speech.
From "How the García Girls Lost Their Accents" by Julia Alvarez
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.
