laurel
/ˈlɒrəl/ (bre, ipa) · [lˈɔrəl] /ˈlɔːrəl/ (ame, ipa) · [lˈɔrəl] /ˈlȯr-əl ˈlär-/ (ame, mw)
laurel — noun
- laurelsingular
- laurelsplural
1. a plant that keeps its leaves in every season and has smooth foliage, dark berri
a plant that keeps its leaves in every season and has smooth foliage, dark berries, and a strong smell.
The cook crushed a dried laurel leaf into the winter soup.
laurel leaf used in cooking
A laurel bush beside the gate stayed green through the dry summer.
Salma planted a young laurel near the wall for shade and scent.
Tiny black berries hung under the laurel outside the old library.
- bay tree
used especially when talking about the culinary plant
- evergreen shrub
broader term that describes the plant type, not this exact species
文法句型
a laurel tree/bush
laurel leaves
用法筆記
This sense names the plant itself. In cooking, people also use 'laurel leaf' for the dried aromatic leaf put into soups or stews.
2. honour or admiration that people give someone after an impressive success or ach
honour or admiration that people give someone after an impressive success or achievement.
The young singer won fresh laurels after her first stadium tour.
win fresh laurels
The film's quiet success earned the director new laurels abroad.
After the rescue, local papers showered the firefighter with laurels.
Winning the science prize brought Mei laurels across the whole school.
- acclaim
stresses enthusiastic public praise
- honour
broader and often more formal
- recognition
can be more neutral and less emotional
文法句型
win/earn laurels
bring someone laurels
用法筆記
Mostly appears in formal writing or in reports about success. Unlike sense 3, this sense focuses on the praise people give you, not the past success you may later rely on.
3. the success you have already won, especially when people warn you not to depend
the success you have already won, especially when people warn you not to depend on it too much or lose it.
After one bestseller, he rested on his laurels and stopped revising.
rest on your laurels
With two faster runners in the final, Tara knew she must look to her laurels.
The coach warned the team not to live only on last year's laurels.
Past laurels will not help the company if its next phone fails.
- achievements
plain modern word for what someone has already accomplished
- honours
stresses awards and public distinction more strongly
- reputation
can include past success, but it is wider than this idiomatic sense
- obscurity
lack of public success or known achievement
文法句型
rest on your laurels
look to your laurels
用法筆記
Almost always appears as plural 'laurels' in fixed expressions. Distinguish it from sense 2: sense 3 means the success itself, especially when it becomes something you rely on.
常見錯誤
laurel — verb
- laurelpresent simple I / you / we / they
- laurels3rd person singular
- laureling-ing form
- laureledpast simple
1. to place a wreath of laurel on someone as a sign that they have won or deserve h
to place a wreath of laurel on someone as a sign that they have won or deserve honour.
Priests laureled the winning poet before the crowd entered the square.
laurel + the winning poet
The festival laureled its oldest actor with a wreath of fresh leaves.
In the school play, the guards laureled the hero after the battle.
The city formally laureled the chess champion at the spring parade.
- strip
remove ceremonial symbols instead of giving them
文法句型
laurel + winner/person
用法筆記
Rare and literary or historical. In ordinary modern English, people more often say someone was 'crowned' or 'honoured' instead of using this verb.