honour

hon|our¹ W3 BrE honor AmE [ˈɔnə US ˈa:nər] n

▬▬▬▬▬▬▬

1¦(something that makes you proud)¦

2¦(respect)¦

3 in honour of somebody/something

4¦(given to somebody)¦

5¦(moral principles)¦

6¦(at university/school)¦

7 Your/His/Her Honour

8 place of honour

9 with full military honours

10 do the honours

11 your word of honour

12 be an honour to somebody/something

13 be/feel honour bound to do something

14 on your honour

15¦(sex)¦

▬▬▬▬▬▬▬

1.) ¦(SOMETHING THAT MAKES YOU PROUD)¦ [singular] formal

something that makes you feel very proud

▪ It is a great honour , something I never expected.

▪ Over 100 players competed for the honour of representing the county in the National Finals.

▪ Earlier this year, I had the honor of meeting the President.

▪ It is an honour to have you here.

▪ Will you do me the honour of becoming my wife?

2.) ¦(RESPECT)¦[U]

the respect that you, your family, your country etc receive from other people, which makes you feel proud

honour of

▪ He was prepared even to die in order to defend the honour of his family.

national/family/personal etc honour

▪ For the French team, winning tomorrow's game is a matter of national honour.

3.) in honour of sb/sth

a) in order to show how much you admire and respect someone

▪ The stadium was named in honour of the club's first chairman.

in sb's honour

▪ A special dinner will be held in her honour.

b) to celebrate an event

▪ An oak tree was planted in honour of the occasion .

4.) ¦(GIVEN TO SOMEBODY)¦

something such as a special title or ↑medal given to someone to show how much people respect them for what they have achieved

▪ Reverend Peters was nominated for the honour by colleagues at Walworth Methodist Church.

highest honour

(=most important honour)

▪ The medal is the highest honour the association can bestow (=give) .

5.) ¦(MORAL PRINCIPLES)¦[U]

strong moral beliefs and standards of behaviour that make people respect and trust you

▪ My father was a man of honour and great integrity.

▪ Her actions were always guided by a deep sense of honour (=strong desire to do what is morally right) .

matter/point/question of honour

(=something that you feel you must do because of your moral principles)

▪ It had become a point of honour not to tell him about Lori.

6.) ¦(AT UNIVERSITY/SCHOOL)¦

a) with honours

BrE if you pass a university degree with honours, you pass it at a level that is higher than the most basic level

b) with honors

AmE if you finish high school or college with honors, you get one of the highest grades

c) First Class/Second Class Honours

BrE the highest or second highest level of degree at a British university

7.) Your/His/Her Honour

used when speaking to or about a judge

▪ No, Your Honour.

8.) place of honour

the seat or place which is given to the most important guest or object

▪ The vase she gave me occupies the place of honor in my living room.

9.) with full military honours

if someone is buried with full military honours, there is a military ceremony at their funeral

10.) do the honours

spoken to pour the drinks, serve food etc at a social occasion

▪ Liz, would you do the honors?

11.) your word of honour

a very serious promise that what you are saying is true

▪ I won't try to see you again. I give you my word of honour .

12.) be an honour to sb/sth

to bring admiration and respect to your country, school, family etc because of your behaviour or achievements

▪ He's an honour to his family and his country.

13.) be/feel honour bound to do sth

formal to feel that it is your moral duty to do something

▪ We felt honor bound to attend their wedding.

14.) on your honour

a) if you swear on your honour to do something, you promise very seriously to do it

b) old-fashioned if you are on your honour to do something, you are being trusted to do it

15.) ¦(SEX)¦[U]

old use if a woman loses her honour, she has sex with a man she is not married to

→guest of honour at ↑guest¹ (1), ↑maid of honour

▬▬▬▬▬▬▬

COLLOCATES for sense 1

great honour

rare honour (=a very special honour)

dubious honour (=something that you are not sure that you should be proud of)

the honour of doing something

have the honour of doing something

it is an honour to do something (=used as a polite way of saying that you are pleased to do something)

do somebody the honour of doing something (=make someone proud and happy by doing something for them)

▬▬▬▬▬▬▬

honour ²

honour² BrE honor AmE v [T]

1.) be/feel honoured (to do sth)

to feel very proud and pleased

▪ I felt very honoured to be included in the team.

2.) formal to show publicly that someone is respected and admired, especially by praising them or giving them a special title

honour sb with sth

▪ He was honored with an award for excellence in teaching.

honour sb for sth

▪ Two firefighters have been honoured for their courage.

3.) honour a promise/contract/agreement etc

to do what you have agreed to do

▪ Once again the government has failed to honour its promises.

▪ We pray that both sides will continue to honour their commitment to the peace agreement.

4.) to treat someone with special respect

▪ In a marriage, you need to honour one another.

▪ I was treated like an honored guest .

5.) honour a cheque

if your bank honours a cheque that you have given someone, it pays the money to that person

6.) sb has decided to honour us with their presence

used humorously when someone arrives late, or to someone who rarely comes to a meeting, class etc