What does "laurel" mean?
An evergreen shrub of species Laurus nobilis, having aromatic leaves of a lanceolate shape, with clusters of small, yellowish white flowers in their axils.
Laurel
/ˈlɔɹ.əl/ name, noun, verb, slang
name, noun, verb, slang ·Common ·High school level
Meaning at a glance
- Primary sense: An evergreen shrub of species Laurus nobilis, having aromatic leaves of a lanceolate shape, with clusters of small, yellowish white flowers in their axils.
- Grammar: laurel is listed as name, noun, verb, slang.
- Nearest alternatives: award, bay, bay, bay laurel.
- Useful contrasts: deny, disallow, disgrace.
- Usage evidence: Do you know of a dish that has laurel leaves in it?
How to use "laurel"
- Start with the primary definition, then check the part of speech before placing the word in a sentence.
- Compare nearby synonyms to make sure "laurel" 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 "laurel" 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 "laurel" as the right word for your sentence.
If your draft is formal, technical, persuasive, or sensitive, compare "laurel" with a nearby alternative so the final choice matches both meaning and reader expectation.
Compare nearby meanings
- Use synonyms when you need a softer, stronger, simpler, or more specific word.
- Use antonyms to check the boundary of the meaning and avoid accidental contrast.
- Use the example sentence to confirm the word behaves naturally in context.
- Keep the original wording when a replacement adds complexity without improving precision.
Definition decision workflow
1. Identify the role
Check whether "laurel" is acting as name, noun, verb, slang in your sentence. A definition is only useful when the grammar matches the way the word is being used.
2. Test the nearest option
Compare it with "award" and other nearby choices to see whether the sentence needs a softer, stronger, or more familiar word.
3. Confirm with context
Use the example sentence below as an evidence check, then read your own sentence out loud to catch tone or rhythm problems.
Review note: Definition pages are checked for source coverage, sentence evidence, synonym support, and editorial insight before they are treated as approval-ready pages. If the evidence is too thin, the page remains available to users but is kept out of the approval-facing indexed inventory.
Final meaning check
Before publishing a sentence with "laurel", ask whether the word helps the reader understand the idea faster. A precise word should reduce confusion, not simply make the sentence look more polished.
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 An evergreen shrub of species Laurus nobilis, having aromatic leaves of a lanceolate shape, with clusters of small, yellowish white flowers in their axils. countable, uncountable
"Laurel leaves were used in the Orient to promote amatory exercise."
- 2 Formerly, a participant aged sixteen or seventeen years old in the Young Women organization of the LDS Church. Mormonism
- 3 (antiquity) a wreath of laurel foliage worn on the head as an emblem of victory wordnet
- 4 A crown of laurel. countable, uncountable
- 5 any of various aromatic trees of the laurel family wordnet
Show 4 more definitions
- 6 Honor, distinction, fame. countable, figuratively, in-plural, uncountable
"to win laurels"
- 7 Any plant of the family Lauraceae. countable, uncountable
- 8 Any of various plants of other families that resemble laurels. countable, uncountable
- 9 An English gold coin made in 1619, and so called because the king's head on it was crowned with laurel. countable, historical, uncountable
Verb
- 1 To decorate with laurel, especially with a laurel wreath. transitive
"Windows peered from the spaces between the columns, which rose to hold up the large portico laureling the home with chiseled, decorative wreaths and curving spirals."
- 2 To enwreathe. transitive
"It wasn't hot this late in the year, and the sun was low in the southern sky, bracketed by pines and nearly hidden by a tree line laureling a trailer park."
- 3 To award top honours to. informal, transitive
"In this regiment there was a young corporal, a native of Little K . He was laurelled and decorated more than many of his companions, for he excelled them all in courage, coolness, and daring. In one thing more he also excelled them — he was cruel, he was dissipated, and he was vicious in his tastes."
Proper Noun
- 1 A female or male given name from English from the laurel plant.
""What on earth made Becky give you a name like that?" she'd asked Laurel, on that first occasion. "It's the state flower of West Virginia," Laurel told her, smiling. "Where my mother came from.""
- 2 A surname from Spanish.
- 3 A municipality of the Philippines; named for Miguel Laurel.
- 4 A neighbourhood of Edmonton, Alberta.
- 5 A number of places in the United States:; A ghost town in Santa Cruz County, California.
Show 17 more definitions
- 6 A number of places in the United States:; A neighborhood of Oakland, California.
- 7 A number of places in the United States:; A town in Delaware; named for the laurel bushes growing in the area.
- 8 A number of places in the United States:; A census-designated place in Florida.
- 9 A number of places in the United States:; A town in Indiana; named for the city in Maryland.
- 10 A number of places in the United States:; A city in Iowa; named for the community in Ohio.
- 11 A number of places in the United States:; A city in Maryland.
- 12 A number of places in the United States:; A city in and one of the two county seats of Jones County, Mississippi; named for the laurel thickets in the area.
- 13 A number of places in the United States:; A city in Montana; named for the laurel bushes growing in the area.
- 14 A number of places in the United States:; A city in Nebraska; named for early settler Laura Martin.
- 15 A number of places in the United States:; A hamlet in New York.
- 16 A number of places in the United States:; An unincorporated community in Ohio.
- 17 A number of places in the United States:; An unincorporated community in Oregon; named for the trees growing in the area, thought to be laurels (later identified as madrones).
- 18 A number of places in the United States:; An unincorporated community in Tennessee.
- 19 A number of places in the United States:; A census-designated place in Virginia.
- 20 A number of places in the United States:; An unincorporated community in Washington.
- 21 A number of places in the United States:; An unincorporated community in West Virginia.
- 22 A number of places in the United States:; A river flowing from Lake, Kentucky into the Cumberland at Corbin, Kentucky.
Synonyms
All synonymsExample
"Do you know of a dish that has laurel leaves in it?"
Common questions
What is a synonym for "laurel"?
Common synonyms include: award, bay, bay, bay laurel, bay tree, bay wreath.
How do you use "laurel" in a sentence?
Do you know of a dish that has laurel leaves in it?
How do you pronounce "laurel"?
Pronounced /ˈlɔɹ.əl/.
Etymology
Inherited from Middle English laurer, laurel, from Anglo-Norman lorer, from Old French lorier, from Vulgar Latin *laurārius, from Latin laurus (“laurel”). Doublet of loureiro.