: the recipient of honor or recognition for achievement in an art or science
a Nobel laureate
specifically
: poet laureate
lau·re·ate
ˈlȯr-ē-ˌāt 
ˈlär-
laureated; laureating
1
: to crown with or as if with a laurel wreath for excellence or achievement
2
: to appoint to the office of poet laureate
1
: honored for outstanding achievement in an art or science
This was a term coined in the 1950s by Nobel laureate chemist Irving Langmuir …—
Gary Taubes
see also poet laureate
Gary Taubes2
: crowned with laurel
Minted in France in 1807, the front of the medal shows the laureate head of Emperor Napoleon and, on the reverse, an eagle clutching a thunderbolt, part of the emperor's imperial seal.—Brice Stump
Brice StumpExamples of laureate in a Sentence
Recent Examples on the Web
Colin Dwyer, NPR, 18 Mar. 2025
Vardanyan is a philanthropist whose foundation is supported by Nobel laureates, former U.N. High Commissioner Mary Robinson, and actor George Clooney.
—Mark Davis, Newsweek, 14 Mar. 2025
Annika Kim Constantino,ashley Capoot, CNBC, 11 Dec. 2024
The Nobel laureates who signed the letter included 31 winners in medicine, 18 in physics, 17 in chemistry, and 11 in economics.
—Erin Mansfield, USA TODAY, 10 Dec. 2024
See All Example Sentences for laureate
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Noun
For decades an exile living in the UK, the 2021 Nobel laureate in literature has used his books time and again to return to — and interrogate — the lost home that looms so large in his past.
—Colin Dwyer, NPR, 18 Mar. 2025
Vardanyan is a philanthropist whose foundation is supported by Nobel laureates, former U.N. High Commissioner Mary Robinson, and actor George Clooney.
—Mark Davis, Newsweek, 14 Mar. 2025
Verb
The letter’s signatories include 31 Nobel laureates in medicine, 18 in physics, 17 in chemistry and 11 in economics.
—Annika Kim Constantino,ashley Capoot, CNBC, 11 Dec. 2024
The Nobel laureates who signed the letter included 31 winners in medicine, 18 in physics, 17 in chemistry, and 11 in economics.
—Erin Mansfield, USA TODAY, 10 Dec. 2024
See All Example Sentences for laureate
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Cite this Entry
“Laureate.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/laureate. Accessed 24 Mar. 2025.
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