medal

1 of 2

noun

med·​al ˈme-dᵊl 

1

: a small usually metal object bearing a religious emblem or picture

2

: a piece of metal often resembling a coin and having a stamped design that is issued to commemorate a person or event or awarded for excellence or achievement

medal

2 of 2

verb

medaled also medalled; medaling also medalling

ˈmed-liŋ,

ˈme-dᵊl-iŋ 

intransitive verb

: to win a medal

medaled in figure skating

Synonyms

Noun

• medallion
• order

Examples of medal in a Sentence

Noun

He was awarded a medal for his heroism.

the display case held an impressive array of military medals from World War II

Verb

She medaled in figure skating in the Olympics.

Recent Examples on the Web

Noun

Get the latest updates on the 2024 Olympics The medals! —Ben Strauss, Washington Post, 26 June 2024

However, Peacock’s broadcast of the event focused on Team USA winning more medals overall than Australia had won. —Sean Neumann, Peoplemag, 26 June 2024

Verb

Preparing her for that task fell to Siobhan-Marie O'Connor, a British champion swimmer whose many accolades include winning a silver medal in the 200m individual medley at the 2016 Rio Olympics—just 0.3 seconds shy of the gold and the first British woman to medal in the event. —Jennifer Ouellette, Ars Technica, 3 June 2024

Gotham veterans Williams and O’Hara were also part of that 2023 World Cup club, which failed to medal. —Peter Sblendorio, New York Daily News, 19 Jan. 2024

Word History

Etymology

Noun

Middle French medaille, from Old Italian medaglia coin worth half a denarius, medal, from Vulgar Latin *medalis half, alteration of Late Latin medialis middle, from Latin medius — more at mid

First Known Use

Noun

circa 1578, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Verb

1979, in the meaning defined above

Phrases Containing medal

• bronze medal
• deserve a medal
• gold medal
• medal play
• scapular medal
• service medal
• silver medal
• soldier's medal

Kids Definition

medal

noun

med·​al

ˈmed-ᵊl

: a piece of metal often in the form of a coin with design and words in honor of a special event, a person, or an achievement