wreath
Americannoun
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a circular band of flowers, foliage, or any ornamental work, for adorning the head or for any decorative purpose; a garland or chaplet.
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any ringlike, curving, or curling mass or formation.
a wreath of clouds.
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(in stair building)
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a curved section of a handrail.
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Also called wreathpiece. a curved section of a string.
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verb (used with or without object)
noun
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a band of flowers or foliage intertwined into a ring, usually placed on a grave as a memorial or worn on the head as a garland or a mark of honour
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any circular or spiral band or formation
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a spiral or circular defect appearing in porcelain and glassware
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Etymology
Origin of wreath
before 1000; Middle English wrethe, Old English writha something wound or coiled; akin to writhe
Explanation
Got a wreath on your front door? That's one of those ring-shaped bands of flowers or foliage that people use for decoration. Wreaths go back to ancient times and maybe the circular shape symbolizes the eternal. You can also wear a wreath. If you feel like dancing around the maypole or celebrating your Olympic victory, you might wear a wreath of spring flowers or laurels on your head. You might also want to remember someone who's passed away by placing a wreath on their grave. Wreaths don’t have to be green — you can carve gold or wood into a wreath or you can even have a mountain peak with a wreath of clouds around it.
Vocabulary lists containing wreath
Joy To The Word: Christmas Terms
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Memorial Day Words
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"O Captain! My Captain!" by Walt Whitman
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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.
"The first thing we recorded was called Wreath and it was beautiful. That's when I was like, 'Oh, I think I'm gonna keep hanging around these boys'."
From BBC • Oct. 1, 2022
Here’s how you can make Morgan’s trusty "Pigs in a Blanket Wreath" recipe at home.
From Fox News • Dec. 20, 2021
By the mid-1970s, Mr. Spiegel’s company, American Tree and Wreath, was producing about 800,000 trees a year, one off the assembly line every four minutes.
From New York Times • Dec. 17, 2021
Join Edmonds’ second annual Wreath Walk featuring original, artist-designed and decorated wreaths hung in select businesses and storefronts in the downtown Edmonds core during the holiday season.
From Seattle Times • Nov. 21, 2021
It’s called Irish Wreath, four purple irises with green stems meeting in the middle on a black background.
From "Orphan Train" by Christina Baker Kline
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.
