Navy Cross vs ribbon

Navy Cross and ribbon both are nouns.

Word	Noun	Adjective	Verb	Adverb
Navy Cross	Yes	No	No	No
ribbon	Yes	No	No	No

As nouns, ribbon is a hypernym of Navy Cross; that is, ribbon is a word with a broader meaning than Navy Cross:

Navy Cross: a United States Navy decoration for extraordinary heroism against an armed enemy
ribbon: an award for winning a championship or commemorating some other event

Other hypernyms of Navy Cross include decoration, laurel wreath, medal, medallion, palm.

Navy Cross (noun)	ribbon (noun)
a United States Navy decoration for extraordinary heroism against an armed enemy	notion consisting of a narrow strip of fine material used for trimming
	a long strip of inked material for making characters on paper with a typewriter
	an award for winning a championship or commemorating some other event
	any long object resembling a thin line