a person who has been honored for achieving distinction in a particular field or with a particular award: a Nobel laureate.
See
—adj.
deserving or having special recognition for achievement, as for poetry (often used immediately after the noun that is modified): poet laureate; conjurer laureate.
having special distinction or recognition in a field: the laureate men of science.
crowned or decked with laurel as a mark of honor.
consisting of or resembling laurel, as a wreath or crown.