I. hon ‧ or /ˈɒnə $ ˈɑːnər/ BrE AmE noun [uncountable and countable]
[ Date: 1100-1200 ; Language: Old French ; Origin: Latin ]
the American spelling of ↑ honour
II. hon ‧ our 1 W3 BrE AmE British English , honor American English /ˈɒnə $ ˈɑːnər/ noun
1 . SOMETHING THAT MAKES YOU PROUD [singular] something that makes you feel very proud:
Over 100 players competed for the honour of representing the county in the National Finals.
it is an honour to do something
It is an honor to have you here, sir.
2 . RESPECT [uncountable] the respect that you, your family, your country etc receive from other people, which makes you feel proud
honour of
He was prepared even to die in order to defend the honour of his family.
national/family/personal etc honour
For the French team, winning tomorrow’s game is a matter of national honour.
3 . in honour of somebody/something
a) in order to show how much you admire and respect someone:
The stadium was named in honour of the club’s first chairman.
in sb’s honour
A special dinner will be held in her honour.
b) to celebrate an event:
An oak tree was planted in honour of the occasion.
4 . GIVEN TO SOMEBODY [countable] something such as a special title or ↑ medal given to someone to show how much people respect them for what they have achieved:
Reverend Peters was nominated for the honour by colleagues at Walworth Methodist Church.
highest honour (=most important honour)
The medal is the highest honour the association can bestow (=give) .
5 . MORAL PRINCIPLES [uncountable] strong moral beliefs and standards of behaviour that make people respect and trust you:
My father was a man of honour and great integrity.
Her actions were always guided by a deep sense of honour (=strong desire to do what is morally right) .
matter/point/question of honour (=something that you feel you must do because of your moral principles)
It had become a point of honour not to tell him about Lori.
6 . AT UNIVERSITY/SCHOOL
a) with honours British English if you pass a university degree with honours, you pass it at a level that is higher than the most basic level
b) with honors American English if you finish high school or college with honors, you get one of the highest grades
c) First Class/Second Class Honours British English the highest or second highest level of degree at a British university
7 . Your/His/Her Honour used when speaking to or about a judge:
No, Your Honour.
8 . place of honour the seat or place which is given to the most important guest or object:
The vase she gave me occupies the place of honor in my living room.
9 . with full military honours if someone is buried with full military honours, there is a military ceremony at their funeral
10 . do the honours spoken to pour the drinks, serve food etc at a social occasion:
Liz, would you do the honors?
11 . your word of honour a very serious promise that what you are saying is true:
I won’t try to see you again. I give you my word of honour.
12 . be an honour to somebody/something to bring admiration and respect to your country, school, family etc because of your behaviour or achievements:
He’s an honour to his family and his country.
13 . be/feel honour bound to do something formal to feel that it is your moral duty to do something:
We felt honor bound to attend their wedding.
14 . on your honour
a) if you swear on your honour to do something, you promise very seriously to do it
b) old-fashioned if you are on your honour to do something, you are being trusted to do it
15 . the honours are even used to say that the people or teams in a competition, game etc have done as well as each other or have the same score
16 . SEX [uncountable] old use if a woman loses her honour, she has sex with a man she is not married to
⇨ guest of honour at ↑ guest 1 (1), ⇨ ↑ maid of honour
• • •
COLLOCATIONS (for Meaning 1)
■ adjectives
▪ a great honour
It was a great honour to meet my hero in person.
▪ a rare honour (=a very special honour that is not given to many people)
Being asked to paint a portrait for the queen is a rare honour for any artist.
▪ a dubious honour (=something that you are not sure that you should be proud of)
The city has the dubious honor of being the smoggiest city in the world.
▪ a signal honour formal (=a great honour)
He received the signal honour of becoming an Honorary Fellow of the college.
■ verbs
▪ have the honour formal
As a young man, he had the honour of meeting Winston Churchill.
▪ do somebody the honour formal (=used when saying that you feel proud that someone has decided to do something )
Will you do me the honour of becoming my wife?
• • •
COLLOCATIONS (for Meaning 2)
■ verbs
▪ bring honour to somebody/something (=make people respect someone or something)
The bravery of these men has brought honour to their regiment.
▪ defend somebody's/something's honour (=do something to protect it when it is being attacked)
To defend his honour and his business interests, he was prepared to go to court.
▪ save the honour of somebody/something (=stop it being lost)
Her father fought with him to save her honour.
▪ uphold the honour of somebody/something (=defend it)
She felt duty bound to uphold the honour of her country.
▪ restore the honour of somebody/something (=make it return to its former state)
He would be forced to restore the honour of his family name.
■ ADJECTIVES/NOUN + honour
▪ national honour
For him this is a matter of both personal and national honour.
▪ family honour
Refusal of a marriage offer is seen as an attack on the family honour.
■ phrases
▪ somebody's/something's honour is at stake (=someone may lose their honour)
French people believed that the country's honour was at stake over the incident.
• • •
COLLOCATIONS (for Meaning 5)
■ phrases
▪ a man of honour
I know Tom to be a man of honour and integrity.
▪ a matter/point/question of honour (=something you feel you must do because of your moral beliefs)
To my mum, paying bills on time is a point of honour.
▪ a code of honour (=a set of moral rules, laws, or principles that people follow)
We abide by a strict military code of honor.
▪ a sense of honour
Is he marrying her out of some misplaced sense of honour?
▪ somebody's word of honour (=a promise based on strong moral beliefs)
I give you my word of honour that you will not be harmed.
▪ be/feel honour bound to do something (=feel that you should do something, because it is morally right or your duty to do it)
My father felt honour bound to help his sister.
III. honour 2 BrE AmE British English , honor American English verb [transitive]
1 . be/feel honoured (to do something) to feel very proud and pleased:
I felt very honoured to be included in the team.
2 . formal to show publicly that someone is respected and admired, especially by praising them or giving them a special title
honour somebody with something
He was honored with an award for excellence in teaching.
honour somebody for something
Two firefighters have been honoured for their courage.
3 . honour a promise/contract/agreement etc to do what you have agreed to do:
Once again, the government has failed to honour its promises.
We pray that both sides will continue to honour their commitment to the peace agreement.
4 . to treat someone with special respect:
In a marriage, you need to honour one another.
I was treated like an honored guest.
5 . honour a cheque if your bank honours a cheque that you have given someone, it pays the money to that person
6 . somebody has decided to honour us with their presence used humorously when someone arrives late, or to someone who rarely comes to a meeting, class etc