Skip to main content
Glite Dictionary
Congressional Medal of Honor

Congressional Medal of Honor

8 4.7
The highest United States medal given to members of the military for very great bravery in battle
  • noun
  • /ˌkɒŋɡrɛˈsɪənəl ˈmɛdəl əv ˈɒnər/
  • Formal
translation icon : Medalla de Honor del Congreso
  • The White House wants to know about... the Congressional Medal of Honor.
  • Congressional Medal of Honor recipients
  • earned the Congressional Medal of Honor

Examples

  • Three purple hearts, two silver stars, and the Congressional Medal of Honor.

    Fiction book (1996)

  • My father was a winner of the Congressional Medal of Honour, sir.

    The Last Castle (2001)

  • I seem to have lost my Congressional Medal of Honor somewhere around here.

    Fiction book (1999)

  • Where are the applications for the Congressional Medal of Honor?

    Blog text (17)

  • They gave you the Congressional Medal of Honor!

    Forrest Gump (1994)

  • Of course, combat heroism existed long before the Congressional Medal of Honor was established.

    Academic text (1998)

  • This nation jealously guards its highest award for valor, the Congressional Medal of Honor.

    The Manchurian Candidate (1962)

  • So it is with great pride that I bestow this Congressional Medal of Honour on Kyle Christopher Steele.

    xXx: State of the Union (2005)

  • Church leaders were especially proud of their military heroes, such as Desmond Doss, whose bravery earned him a Congressional Medal of Honor in 1945.

    Academic text (1998)

  • For extraordinary courage and leadership, Lloyd Burke was awarded the Congressional Medal of Honor.

Synonyms

Medal of Honor
vsCongressional Medal of Honor
  • Formal
28 3.4

The highest United States military award given for very brave acts in battle

is the same decoration but described with extraordinary bravery wording

Surface Forms

Congressional Medal of Honor singular
Congressional Medals of Honor plural

Morphology

congressional + medal + of + honor

A learner who knows 'congressional' (connected to Congress), 'medal' (an award) and 'honor' would reasonably infer this is an official government award or honored medal, so the general idea of a prestigious formal award is derivable from the parts. However, the precise sense — that it is the specific, highest U.S. military decoration awarded for extraordinary bravery — is culturally specific and not fully predictable from the constituents alone.

Etymology

Congressional Medal of Honor began during the American Civil War when Congressional leaders set up a special medal to show honor for very brave acts. That's why the name now means the highest U.S. military award for bravery.