Meaning & use
wear the crown
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Meanings
phraseidiom
To be the ruler of a country, or in a wider sense to hold the top position and its responsibilities.
Grammar: A verb phrase with a person as subject: she wears the crown.
Patterns
- wear the crown of somewhere
The young prince will one day wear the crown.
Whoever wears the crown must answer to the people.
After years of work, she finally wore the crown as the company's CEO.
phraseidiominformal
To be the champion or best in a competition or field.
Grammar: Used figuratively for winners: our team wears the crown this year.
Patterns
- wear the crown as something
Our school wears the crown in this year's debate league.
He wears the crown for the best chili in town.
Who will wear the crown at the end of the tournament?
Word forms
| third person | wears the crown |
|---|---|
| past | wore the crown |
| -ing | wearing the crown |
Common combinations
- destined to wear the crown
- She was destined to wear the crown.
- the right to wear the crown
- He claimed the right to wear the crown.
- proud to wear the crown
- The champion was proud to wear the crown.
- ready to wear the crown
- The heir is ready to wear the crown.
Synonyms and how they differ
- reign
- Reign is a single verb for ruling as a monarch.
- rule
- Rule means to govern, without the royal image.
- hold the title
- Hold the title works for sports and contests, while wear the crown adds royal flair.
Opposites
Word family
- crown noun
- a royal headdress
- crown verb
- to place a crown on or declare champion
- crowned adjective
- formally made monarch or champion
- coronation noun
- the ceremony of crowning
Commonly confused: wear the crown or win the crown?
wear the crown vs win the crown
Win the crown focuses on gaining the title, while wear the crown is about holding it.
Practice
Because the king had no children, his niece would ______.
Choose one answer.
Wear the crown means to be the ruler; the other idioms have unrelated meanings.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “wear the crown”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.