What does "honor" mean in the following sentence?
The soldier honored his country with 20 years of service.
I'd appreciate your help.
English Language Learners Stack Exchange is a question and answer site for speakers of other languages learning English. It only takes a minute to sign up.
Sign up to join this communityWhat does "honor" mean in the following sentence?
The soldier honored his country with 20 years of service.
I'd appreciate your help.
To honor something|someone is to show it|them respect, in word and deed.
To serve one's country can be understood as a form of respect to both the nation and its people, and thus it falls under the rubric of honoring one's country.
The object of the preposition with in "to honor someone|someone with {something}" identifies the specific word(s) and/or deed(s) that evince the respect.
He honored the visiting dignitary with a bow.
He honored his old friend with a eulogy.
He was honored with a plaque for his years of service.