The crown of something is its highest point or top part. The crown of a tree is where its branches and leaves spread out at the top. The crown of your head is the rounded top part where your hair grows. When a dentist puts a crown on your tooth, they're covering the visible top part that shows when you smile.

A crown is also the jeweled, ceremonial headpiece worn by kings and queens as a symbol of royal authority. Throughout history, monarchs have worn crowns during important ceremonies to show their power and position. The British Crown Jewels, for example, include several crowns used for coronations and state occasions. The word crown can also refer to the monarch and their government: when people say “the Crown,” they mean the king or queen and the government that acts in their name.

To crown someone means to place a crown on their head and officially make them king or queen. The word also means to complete something in a special way, like when you crown a winning season with a championship victory. When a checker piece reaches the opposite end of the board and gets another piece stacked on top, it gets crowned and becomes a king with more powerful moves.