: 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 Stump
Examples of laureate in a Sentence
Recent Examples on the WebJessica Gelt, Los Angeles Times, 13 Mar. 2024
Today, Rolex announces the five laureates have been named to receive awards for the year 2023.
—Roberta Naas, Forbes, 20 Feb. 2024
Michael Tilson Thomas, music director laureate of the San Francisco Symphony, has been battling cancer for more than two years, but his musical passions remain undimmed.
—Randy McMullen, The Mercury News, 24 Jan. 2024
Another Nobel laureate, Richard Thaler, says Kahneman and Tversky broadened our understanding by asking a different question than most economists, who were steeped in mathematics, not psychology.
—Scott Horsley, NPR, 27 Mar. 2024
Attempts to find work elsewhere were blocked at every turn, despite support from multiple Nobel laureates, Groves and even H-bomb enthusiast Edward Teller.
—Kc Cole, Smithsonian Magazine, 8 Mar. 2024
When another charismatic Russian opposition figure, Boris Nemtsov, was shot dead on a bridge near the Kremlin in 2015, his body was laid in an open coffin in the Sakharov Center — named after the late Soviet-era dissident and Nobel peace laureate, Andrei Sakharov — where supporters paid tribute.
—Robyn Dixon, Washington Post, 23 Feb. 2024
Myanmar’s democratic transition under Nobel laureate Aung San Suu Kyi further curtailed the region’s role in drugs, with U.N.-backed crop substitution programs transforming crimson poppy fields into fruit orchards and tea plantations.
—TIME, 21 Mar. 2024
Now, some of China’s most zealous online nationalists have a new target in their crosshairs: the country’s first officially recognized Nobel laureate.
—Nectar Gan, CNN, 11 Mar. 2024
Katrina Miller, New York Times, 2 Oct. 2023
The Doomsday Clock is set each year by the 22 members of the Bulletin's Science and Security Board in consultation with its Board of Sponsors, which includes 11 Nobel laureates.
—Doyle Rice, The Courier-Journal, 23 Jan. 2024
This year saw the first-ever approval of a medicine based on the gene editing technology, barely more than a decade after publication of its first demonstration by Nobel laureates Jennifer Doudna and Emmanuelle Charpentier.
—Megan Molteni, STAT, 26 Dec. 2023
Each year, the Nobel Committee for chemistry studies the nominations and proposes the recipients of the Nobel Prize in chemistry to its parent organization, the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences, which ultimately selects the Nobel laureates in chemistry (and physics).
—Jeffrey I. Seeman, The Conversation, 28 Sep. 2023
Beyond the impact of his own research, Professor Solow helped launch the careers of a stunning number of future superstar economists, including four Nobel laureates: Peter Diamond, Joseph E. Stiglitz, William D. Nordhaus and George A. Akerlof.
—Michael M. Weinstein, New York Times, 22 Dec. 2023
In 2021, dozens of scientists — including two Nobel laureates — petitioned the state governor to request that Folbigg be pardoned and released.
—Rachel Pannett, Washington Post, 14 Dec. 2023
Advertisement Courses include an introduction to graduate humanities and graduate writing, the study of modern Nobel laureates and the history of American punishment and incarceration.
—Hannah Wiley, Los Angeles Times, 3 Nov. 2023
Fittingly, the announcement marked a small step toward closing a gender gap among Nobel laureates in economics: Out of 93 economics winners, Ms. Goldin is just the third woman to be awarded the prize and the first woman to be the sole winner in any year.
—Paul Wiseman, David Keyton, The Christian Science Monitor, 10 Oct. 2023
Noun
Conlon will have led L.A. Opera for 20 years by the time of his exit, and will be named conductor laureate in recognition of his many contributions to the company.
—Jessica Gelt, Los Angeles Times, 13 Mar. 2024
Today, Rolex announces the five laureates have been named to receive awards for the year 2023.
—Roberta Naas, Forbes, 20 Feb. 2024
Michael Tilson Thomas, music director laureate of the San Francisco Symphony, has been battling cancer for more than two years, but his musical passions remain undimmed.
—Randy McMullen, The Mercury News, 24 Jan. 2024
Another Nobel laureate, Richard Thaler, says Kahneman and Tversky broadened our understanding by asking a different question than most economists, who were steeped in mathematics, not psychology.
—Scott Horsley, NPR, 27 Mar. 2024
Attempts to find work elsewhere were blocked at every turn, despite support from multiple Nobel laureates, Groves and even H-bomb enthusiast Edward Teller.
—Kc Cole, Smithsonian Magazine, 8 Mar. 2024
When another charismatic Russian opposition figure, Boris Nemtsov, was shot dead on a bridge near the Kremlin in 2015, his body was laid in an open coffin in the Sakharov Center — named after the late Soviet-era dissident and Nobel peace laureate, Andrei Sakharov — where supporters paid tribute.
—Robyn Dixon, Washington Post, 23 Feb. 2024
Myanmar’s democratic transition under Nobel laureate Aung San Suu Kyi further curtailed the region’s role in drugs, with U.N.-backed crop substitution programs transforming crimson poppy fields into fruit orchards and tea plantations.
—TIME, 21 Mar. 2024
Now, some of China’s most zealous online nationalists have a new target in their crosshairs: the country’s first officially recognized Nobel laureate.
—Nectar Gan, CNN, 11 Mar. 2024
Verb
Meitner was a giant in her own right, a contemporary of Nobel laureates like Albert Einstein, Niels Bohr and Max Planck.
—Katrina Miller, New York Times, 2 Oct. 2023
The Doomsday Clock is set each year by the 22 members of the Bulletin's Science and Security Board in consultation with its Board of Sponsors, which includes 11 Nobel laureates.
—Doyle Rice, The Courier-Journal, 23 Jan. 2024
This year saw the first-ever approval of a medicine based on the gene editing technology, barely more than a decade after publication of its first demonstration by Nobel laureates Jennifer Doudna and Emmanuelle Charpentier.
—Megan Molteni, STAT, 26 Dec. 2023
Each year, the Nobel Committee for chemistry studies the nominations and proposes the recipients of the Nobel Prize in chemistry to its parent organization, the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences, which ultimately selects the Nobel laureates in chemistry (and physics).
—Jeffrey I. Seeman, The Conversation, 28 Sep. 2023
Beyond the impact of his own research, Professor Solow helped launch the careers of a stunning number of future superstar economists, including four Nobel laureates: Peter Diamond, Joseph E. Stiglitz, William D. Nordhaus and George A. Akerlof.
—Michael M. Weinstein, New York Times, 22 Dec. 2023
In 2021, dozens of scientists — including two Nobel laureates — petitioned the state governor to request that Folbigg be pardoned and released.
—Rachel Pannett, Washington Post, 14 Dec. 2023
Advertisement Courses include an introduction to graduate humanities and graduate writing, the study of modern Nobel laureates and the history of American punishment and incarceration.
—Hannah Wiley, Los Angeles Times, 3 Nov. 2023
Fittingly, the announcement marked a small step toward closing a gender gap among Nobel laureates in economics: Out of 93 economics winners, Ms. Goldin is just the third woman to be awarded the prize and the first woman to be the sole winner in any year.
—Paul Wiseman, David Keyton, The Christian Science Monitor, 10 Oct. 2023
These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'laureate.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.
Word History
Etymology
Noun and Verb
Middle English, crowned with laurel as a distinction, from Latin laureatus, from laurea laurel wreath, from feminine of laureus of laurel, from laurus
Phrases Containing laureate
Articles Related to laureate
Dictionary Entries Near laureate
Cite this Entry
“Laureate.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/laureate. Accessed 16 Apr. 2024.
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Kids Definition
laureate
noun
lau·re·ate
ˈlȯr-ē-ət,
ˈlär-
: a person honored for achievement in an art or science
especially
: poet laureate
laureate
adjective
More from Merriam-Webster on laureate
Thesaurus: All synonyms and antonyms for laureate
Nglish: Translation of laureate for Spanish Speakers
Britannica English: Translation of laureate for Arabic Speakers
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