What does "crown" mean?
A royal, imperial or princely headdress; a diadem.
Crown
/kɹaʊn/ adj, name, noun, verb, slang
adj, name, noun, verb, slang ·Top 500 ·Elementary level
Meaning at a glance
- Primary sense: A royal, imperial or princely headdress; a diadem.
- Grammar: crown is listed as adj, name, noun, verb, slang.
- Nearest alternatives: cap, crest, diadem, peak.
- Useful contrasts: base, begin, bottom.
- Usage evidence: The girl in the picture is wearing a crown not of gold but of flowers.
How to use "crown"
- Start with the primary definition, then check the part of speech before placing the word in a sentence.
- Compare nearby synonyms to make sure "crown" carries the exact meaning, tone, and strength you need.
- Use the example sentence as a context check. If your sentence uses the word differently, confirm that the grammar still fits.
Meaning check
- Does the word fit the sentence's grammar?
- Does it match the intended tone rather than only the dictionary definition?
- Would a simpler synonym be clearer for the reader?
- Is there enough surrounding context to prevent ambiguity?
Source and review context
This entry combines structured lexical data with WordToolSet review checks. Definitions, examples, synonyms, and usage notes may come from different source tables, so the page is designed to show evidence from more than one angle before you rely on "crown" in a final draft.
If a word has several senses, prefer the sense that matches your sentence's grammar and surrounding context. A correct definition can still be the wrong choice when the sentence needs a different register, emphasis, or level of specificity.
Before you rely on this definition
Read the first definition as a starting point, then check the example, synonyms, and part of speech before treating "crown" as the right word for your sentence.
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Compare nearby meanings
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- Use the example sentence to confirm the word behaves naturally in context.
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Definition decision workflow
1. Identify the role
Check whether "crown" is acting as adj, name, noun, verb, slang in your sentence. A definition is only useful when the grammar matches the way the word is being used.
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3. Confirm with context
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Final meaning check
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When the definition, synonym evidence, and example context point in the same direction, the word is usually a safer choice. When they conflict, revise the sentence or choose a clearer alternative.
Definitions
Noun
- 1 A royal, imperial or princely headdress; a diadem.
"Before so many of Europe's crowns came tumbling off the heads of their royal owners, Continental Europe could show a rich variety in the matter of royal trains."
- 2 the part of a hat (the vertex) that covers the crown of the head wordnet
- 3 A wreath or band for the head, especially one given as reward of victory or a mark of honor.
- 4 an ornamental jeweled headdress signifying sovereignty wordnet
- 5 Any reward of victory or mark of honor. broadly
"the martyr’s crown"
Show 44 more definitions
- 6 a wreath or garland worn on the head to signify victory wordnet
- 7 Imperial or regal power, or those who wield it.
- 8 the center of a cambered road wordnet
- 9 The sovereign (in a monarchy), as head of state. metonymically
"A parliament may be diſſolved by the demiſe of the crown."
- 10 (dentistry) dental appliance consisting of an artificial crown for a broken or decayed tooth wordnet
- 11 The state, the government (headed by a monarch). broadly, especially
"Treasure recovered from shipwrecks automatically becomes property of the Crown."
- 12 the part of a tooth above the gum that is covered with enamel wordnet
- 13 The police (referring to Crown Victoria police cars).
- 14 the top of the head wordnet
- 15 The top part of something:; The topmost part of the head.
"[...]if he awake, / From toe to crowne hee'l fill our skin with pinches, / Make vs ſtrange ſtuffe."
- 16 the award given to the champion wordnet
- 17 The top part of something:; The topmost part of the head.; During childbirth, the appearance of the baby's head from the mother's vagina.
- 18 the Crown (or the reigning monarch) as the symbol of the power and authority of a monarchy wordnet
- 19 The top part of something:; The topmost part of the head.; A round spot shaved clean on the top of the head, as a mark of the clerical state; the tonsure.
- 20 the top or extreme point of something (usually a mountain or hill) wordnet
- 21 The top part of something:; The highest part of a hill.
"Huge Trunks of Trees, fell'd from the ſteepy Crown / Of the bare Mountains, rowl with Ruin down."
- 22 the upper branches and leaves of a tree or other plant wordnet
- 23 The top part of something:; The top section of a hat, above the brim.
- 24 an English coin worth 5 shillings wordnet
- 25 The top part of something:; The raised centre of a road.
"Watt was beginning to tire of running his eyes up and down this highway, when a figure, human apparently, advancing along its crown, arrested, and revived, his attention."
- 26 The top part of something:; The highest part of an arch.
"The arch failed first at the crown, then at the quarterings, and finally at the springings."
- 27 The top part of something:; The upper range of facets in a rose diamond.
- 28 The top part of something:; The dome of a furnace.
- 29 The top part of something:; The upper part of certain fruits, as the pineapple or strawberry, that is removed before eating.
- 30 The top part of something:; The top of a tree.
"Holonym: canopy"
- 31 A kind of spire or lantern formed by converging flying buttresses.
- 32 Splendor; culmination; acme.
"[…] happie in our mutual help/ And mutual love, the Crown of all our bliſs/ Ordain'd by thee, […]"
- 33 Any currency (originally) issued by the crown (regal power) and often bearing a crown (headdress); (translation) various currencies known by similar names in their native languages, such as the korona, koruna, krona, króna, krone.
- 34 A former predecimalization British coin worth five shillings. historical
"Half-a-crown is known as an alderman, half a bull, half a tusheroon, and a madza caroon; whilst a crown piece, or five shillings, may be called either a bull, or a caroon, or a cartwheel, or a coachwheel, or a thick-un, or a tusheroon."
- 35 A coin or note worth five shillings in various countries that are or were in the British Commonwealth, such as Ireland or Jamaica. broadly, historical
"There is no difficulty getting married in Jamaica, is there? No, it only costs half a crown."
- 36 The part of a plant where the root and stem meet.
- 37 The part of a tooth above the gums.
- 38 A prosthetic covering for a tooth.
- 39 A knot formed in the end of a rope by tucking in the strands to prevent them from unravelling.
- 40 The part of an anchor where the arms and the shank meet.
"The honest, rough piece of iron, so simple in appearance, has more parts than the human body has limbs: the ring, the stock, the crown, the flukes, the palms, the shank. All this, according to the journalist, is “cast” when a ship arriving at an anchorage is brought up."
- 41 The rounding, or rounded part, of the deck from a level line.
- 42 A standard size of printing paper measuring 20 × 15 inches. UK
- 43 A standard size of writing paper measuring 19 × 15 inches. US
- 44 A monocyclic ligand having three or more binding sites, capable of holding a guest in a central location.
- 45 A rounding or smoothing of the barrel opening.
- 46 The area enclosed between two concentric perimeters.
- 47 A whole bird with the legs and wings removed to produce a joint of white meat.
"When these TV chefs show you that they can cook a turkey crown in less than two hours; they aren't magicians or have secret turkey suppliers. The twenty minute per pound rule is based on our grandparents' ovens."
- 48 A formal hat worn by women to Sunday church services; a church crown. colloquial
""His [Barack Obama's] unofficial slogan 'fired up and ready to go!' was borrowed from an 'old lady in a church crown [Sunday best hat].""
- 49 The knurled knob or dial, on the outside of a watch case, used to wind it or adjust the hands.
Verb
- 1 To place a crown on the head of.
"The king of the Huns was crowned with steel, and rode a stallion red,/Saying: “Proud must my father’s spirit feel of me who crowned my head […]”"
- 2 past participle of crow archaic, form-of, participle, past
"The cock had crown."
- 3 be the culminating event wordnet
- 4 To formally declare (someone) a king, queen, emperor, etc.
"Her, vvho faireſt does appear, / Crovvn her Queen of all the year."
- 5 put an enamel cover on wordnet
Show 15 more definitions
- 6 To bestow something upon as a mark of honour, dignity, or recompense; to adorn; to dignify.
"Thou […] hast crowned him with glory and honour."
- 7 invest with regal power; enthrone wordnet
- 8 To form the topmost or finishing part of; to complete; to consummate; to perfect.
"the grove that crowns yon tufted hill"
- 9 form the topmost part of wordnet
- 10 To declare (someone) a winner.
"New Zealand were crowned world champions for the first time in 24 years after squeezing past an inspired France team by a single point."
- 11 Of a baby, during the birthing process; for the surface of the baby's head to appear in the vaginal opening.
"The mother was in the second stage of labor and the fetus had just crowned, prompting a round of encouragement from the midwives."
- 12 To cause to round upward; to make anything higher at the middle than at the edges, such as the face of a machine pulley. transitive
- 13 To hit on the head.
"‘[…] I remember a lady coming to inspect St. Mary's Home where I was brought up and seeing us all in our lovely Elizabethan uniforms we were so proud of, and bursting into tears all over us because “it was wicked to dress us like charity children”. We nearly crowned her we were so offended. She saw us but she didn't know us, did she?’."
- 14 To shoot an opponent in the back of the head with a shotgun in a first-person shooter video game.
- 15 In checkers, to stack two checkers to indicate that the piece has become a king.
"“Crown me!” I said, as I moved my checker to the back row."
- 16 Of a forest fire or bushfire, to spread to the crowns of the trees and thence move from tree to tree independent of the surface fire.
- 17 To widen the opening of the barrel.
- 18 To effect a lodgment upon, as upon the crest of the glacis, or the summit of the breach.
- 19 To lay the ends of the strands of (a knot) over and under each other.
- 20 To be on the point of defecating. intransitive, slang
"Where's the bathroom, I'm crowning here!"
Adjective
- 1 Of, related to, or pertaining to a crown. not-comparable
"crown prince"
- 2 Of, related to, pertaining to the top of a tree or trees. not-comparable
"a crown fire"
Proper Noun
- 1 The sovereign of a monarchy; often with reference to that of the Commonwealth realms.
- 2 The government of a monarchy; often with reference to one that is a member of the Commonwealth realms.
- 3 A Crown attorney. Canada
Example
"The girl in the picture is wearing a crown not of gold but of flowers."
Common questions
What is a synonym for "crown"?
Common synonyms include: cap, crest, diadem, peak, summit, top.
How do you use "crown" in a sentence?
The girl in the picture is wearing a crown not of gold but of flowers.
How do you pronounce "crown"?
Pronounced /kɹaʊn/.
Etymology
Etymology 1
From Middle English coroune, from Anglo-Norman corone, from Latin corōna (“crown, wreath”), from Ancient Greek κορώνη (korṓnē). Doublet of corona, korona, koruna, krona, króna, and krone. Displaced native Old English corenbēag (“crown”); and Middle English kinehelm, kynehelm, from Old English cynehelm (“crown”). * (paper size): So called because originally watermarked with a crown.
Etymology 2
From crown.