eternal flame

American  

[ih-tur-nl fleym] / ɪˈtɜr nl ˈfleɪm /

noun

1. a contained fire ignited ceremonially and kept burning, usually in a public place and as a perpetual memorial or symbol.

   On our trip to the United States we visited the grave of President John F. Kennedy, where there is an eternal flame.

   The Peace Memorial Park in Hiroshima features an eternal flame symbolizing the hope for a world free of nuclear weapons.

2. a fire ignited naturally or accidentally, sometimes burning underground, and fueled by deposits of coal or natural gas that keep it from going out.

   At the Burning Mountain in Australia, an eternal flame has been slowly burning underground for 6,000 years.

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Etymology

Origin of eternal flame

First recorded in 1590–1600

Example Sentences

Whenever she is at Liverpool's home ground, she visits the eternal flame memorial to think about all of those who lost their lives.

From BBC • Apr. 11, 2024

It is near the eternal flame that burns next to the pool that surrounds the crypt that holds the Kings’ bodies.

From Seattle Times • Apr. 27, 2023

And, in the center with an eternal flame, would be a simple stone marker as spare and unsentimental as Ivana’s:

From Washington Post • Aug. 1, 2022

Mr. Biden watched the laying of a wreath and rekindled the eternal flame in the Hall of Remembrance at Yad Vashem.

From Washington Times • Jul. 13, 2022

Or, perhaps, to tend it carefully like an eternal flame: a reminder of light and goodness that would never—could never—set anything ablaze.

From "Little Fires Everywhere" by Celeste Ng