Victoria Cross

American  

noun

1. a British decoration awarded to soldiers and sailors for acts of conspicuous bravery in the presence of the enemy. V.C.

---

Victoria Cross British  

noun

1. the highest decoration for gallantry in the face of the enemy awarded to the British and Commonwealth armed forces: instituted in 1856 by Queen Victoria

---

Etymology

Origin of Victoria Cross

First recorded in 1855–60

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

Victoria Cross

The Australian Federal Police said they arrested a 47-year-old former Australian soldier, who was widely named in local media as Victoria Cross recipient Ben Roberts-Smith.

From Barron's ● Apr. 7, 2026

After the war, Daniel Laidlaw struggled to deal with the fame and celebrity that came with his Victoria Cross.

From BBC ● Nov. 11, 2025

Stories include those like Khudadad Khan's - the first Muslim to be awarded the Victoria Cross in 1914.

From BBC ● Sep. 29, 2025

Corporal Sidney Bates posthumously received Britain's Victoria Cross for "supreme gallantry" after repeatedly charging a critical German position with a light machine gun before dying of his wounds.

From Reuters ● Nov. 12, 2023

By his wife, who predeceased him, he left several children, daughters and sons, one of whom, a major in the artillery, won the Victoria Cross in South Africa in 1900.

From Encyclopaedia Britannica, 11th Edition, Volume 13, Slice 6 "Home, Daniel" to "Hortensius, Quintus" by Various