: 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
Jonathan Granoff, Newsweek, 28 Jan. 2025
Gibson spends much of the movie fighting to get back onstage, but the road to recovery proves more complex than the laureate or Falley would like.
—Alison Foreman, IndieWire, 25 Jan. 2025
Kristen Rogers, CNN, 28 Jan. 2025
Last week, 153 top Nobel Prize and World Food Prize laureates sounded an alarm about the dangerous consequences of the world’s current approach to climate action and food system change.
—Danielle Nierenberg, Forbes, 24 Jan. 2025
See all Example Sentences for laureate 
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Noun
Each year, the Bulletin's Science and Security Board, in consultation with Nobel laureates, determines the clock's time.
—Jonathan Granoff, Newsweek, 28 Jan. 2025
Gibson spends much of the movie fighting to get back onstage, but the road to recovery proves more complex than the laureate or Falley would like.
—Alison Foreman, IndieWire, 25 Jan. 2025
Verb
The board currently includes nine Nobel laureates, many of them in physics, physiology or medicine.
—Kristen Rogers, CNN, 28 Jan. 2025
Last week, 153 top Nobel Prize and World Food Prize laureates sounded an alarm about the dangerous consequences of the world’s current approach to climate action and food system change.
—Danielle Nierenberg, Forbes, 24 Jan. 2025
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 4 Feb. 2025.
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