/ kraʊn; NAmE / noun , verb
■ noun
OF KING / QUEEN
1.
[ C ] an object in the shape of a circle, usually made of gold and precious stones , that a king or queen wears on his or her head on official occasions
2.
the Crown [ sing. ] the government of a country, thought of as being represented by a king or queen :
land owned by the Crown
a Minister of the Crown
Who's appearing for the Crown (= bringing a criminal charge against sb on behalf of the state) in this case?
3.
the crown [ sing. ] the position or power of a king or queen :
She refused the crown (= refused to become queen) .
his claim to the French crown
OF FLOWERS / LEAVES
4.
[ C ] a circle of flowers, leaves, etc. that is worn on sb's head, sometimes as a sign of victory
IN SPORTS COMPETITION
5.
[ C , usually sing. ] ( informal ) the position of winning a sports competition :
She is determined to retain her Wimbledon crown.
OF HEAD / HAT
6.
(usually the crown ) [ sing. ] the top part of the head or a hat
—picture at face , sun hat
HIGHEST PART
7.
(usually the crown ) [ sing. ] the highest part of sth :
the crown of a hill
ON TOOTH
8.
[ C ] an artificial cover for a damaged tooth
SHAPE
9.
[ C ] anything in the shape of a crown, especially as a decoration or a badge
MONEY
10.
[ C ] a unit of money in several European countries :
Czech crowns
11.
[ C ] an old British coin worth five shillings (= now 25p)
•
IDIOMS
see jewel
■ verb
KING / QUEEN
1.
to put a crown on the head of a new king or queen as a sign of royal power :
[ vn ]
Queen Elizabeth was crowned in 1953.
[ vn - n ]
The prince was soon to be crowned King of England.
COVER TOP
2.
[ vn ] [ usually passive ] crown sth (with sth) to form or cover the top of sth :
His head was crowned with a mop of brown curls.
MAKE COMPLETE
3.
[ vn ] [ often passive ] crown sth (with sth) to make sth complete or perfect, especially by adding an achievement, a success, etc. :
The award of the Nobel Prize has crowned a glorious career in physics.
Their efforts were finally crowned with success.
HIT ON HEAD
4.
[ vn ] ( old-fashioned , informal ) to hit sb on the head
TOOTH
5.
[ vn ] to put an artificial cover on a tooth
SYN cap :
I've had one of my teeth crowned.
•
IDIOMS
- to crown it all
••
WORD ORIGIN
Middle English : from Anglo-Norman French corune (noun), coruner (verb), Old French corone (noun), coroner (verb), from Latin corona wreath, chaplet.