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laurel
1[ lawr-uhl, lor- ]
noun
- Also called bay, sweet bay. a small European evergreen tree, Laurus nobilis, of the laurel family, having dark, glossy green leaves. Compare laurel family.
- any tree of the genus Laurus.
- any of various similar trees or shrubs, as the mountain laurel or the great rhododendron.
- the foliage of the laurel as an emblem of victory or distinction.
- a branch or wreath of laurel foliage.
- Usually laurels. honor won, as for achievement in a field or activity.
verb (used with object)
- to adorn or wreathe with laurel.
- to honor with marks of distinction.
Laurel
2[ lawr-uhl, lor- ]
noun
- Stan Arthur Stanley Jefferson, 1890–1965, U.S. motion-picture actor and comedian, born in England.
- a city in SE Mississippi.
- a town in central Maryland.
- a female given name.
laurel
/ ˈlɒrəl /
noun
- Also calledbaytrue laurel any lauraceous tree of the genus Laurus , such as the bay tree (see bay4 ) and L. canariensis , of the Canary Islands and Azores
- any lauraceous plant
- short for cherry laurel mountain laurel
- spurge laurelspurge laurel a European thymelaeaceous evergreen shrub, Daphne laureola, with glossy leaves and small green flowers
- spotted laurelspotted laurelJapan laurel an evergreen cornaceous shrub, Aucuba japonica, of S and SE Asia, the female of which has yellow-spotted leaves
- plural a wreath of true laurel, worn on the head as an emblem of victory or honour in classical times
- plural honour, distinction, or fame
- look to one's laurelslook to one's laurels to be on guard against one's rivals
- rest on one's laurelsrest on one's laurels to be satisfied with distinction won by past achievements and cease to strive for further achievements
verb
- tr to crown with laurels
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Other Words From
- un·laureled adjective
- un·laurelled adjective
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Word History and Origins
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Word History and Origins
Origin of laurel1
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Idioms and Phrases
- look to one's laurels, to be alert to the possibility of being excelled or surpassed:
New developments in the industry are forcing long-established firms to look to their laurels.
- rest on one's laurels, to be content with one's past or present honors, achievements, etc.:
He retired at the peak of his career and is resting on his laurels.
More idioms and phrases containing laurel
see look to one's laurels ; rest on one's laurels .Discover More
Example Sentences
So when my wife and I moved to Laurel Canyon I spent my first year working night and day on the show.
Did McCarthy invent the portrayal of violence in fiction, or should that laurel go to Homer?
If Pat Roberts lived in Dodge City, why did he travel 1,400 miles out of his way to purchase his car in Laurel, Maryland?
But no laurel wreaths waited for Marina on the day of her victory.
One artist, Edgardo Aragón from Oaxaca, tries to capture that in an exhibition at the Laurel Gitlen Gallery.
He went out into the garden, and the rustling of the laurel-bushes frightened him.
Burn the male olive-branch and the pine twig and juniper, and let the blazing laurel crackle amid the hearth.
The composer was recalled fifteen times and presented with a laurel wreath.
Nothing was to be thought of but a frame for this—olive, bay, laurel, everything appropriate to the conqueror.
They could hear bird calling bird far within, among the myrtles and laurel hedges.
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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.
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