Meaning & use
wreath
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Meaning
nouncountable
A circular arrangement of flowers, leaves, or other material, used as a decoration or tribute.
Grammar: Countable noun: a wreath, two wreaths.
Patterns
- a wreath of something
- lay a wreath
- hang a wreath
She hung a wreath of holly on the front door.
The president laid a wreath at the memorial.
They made a wreath from dried flowers.
Word forms
| plural | wreaths |
|---|
Common combinations
- Christmas wreath
- We bought a Christmas wreath for the fireplace.
- laurel wreath
- The victor was crowned with a laurel wreath.
- funeral wreath
- They sent a funeral wreath to the family.
- lay a wreath
- The soldiers laid a wreath at the tomb.
Synonyms and how they differ
Word family
- wreathe verb
- To surround or decorate with wreaths or as if with wreaths.
Commonly confused: wreath or wreath?
wreath vs wreath
Not to be confused with 'wreathe' (verb), which has a different spelling and meaning. Also, 'wreath' is pronounced /riːθ/, while 'wreathe' is /riːð/.
Practice
They placed a ______ of flowers on the grave.
Choose one answer.
The sentence needs a singular noun after 'a', so 'wreath' is correct. 'Wreathe' is a verb, 'wreaths' is plural, and 'wreathing' is a present participle, none of which fit after 'a'.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “wreath”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.