meditation
Americannoun
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meditations
plural
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the act of meditating.
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continued or extended thought; reflection; contemplation.
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devout religious contemplation or spiritual introspection.
noun
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the act of meditating; contemplation; reflection
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contemplation of spiritual matters, esp as a religious practice
Other Word Forms
Noun Inflected Forms
Etymology
Origin of meditation
First recorded in 1175–1225; from Latin meditātiōn-, stem of meditātiō “contemplation, planning”; equivalent to meditate + -ion
Explanation
A meditation is an extended period of thought or concentration. If you practice yoga and you often meditate, you know what meditation is. But any time you focus on one thing for a long time, it's an act of meditation. After you've thought about something for a while, you can write about it, and that writing could be called a meditation, too. Beethoven's Ode to Joy is a meditation on joy. If you're easily upset by things, consider meditation. Slowing down your thought process and concentrating on it for a while can make you feel better. Samurai were known for meditating before going into battle. Meditation gave them focus, and focus gave them power.
Vocabulary lists containing meditation
World Religions
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South Asia - Introductory
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South Asia - Middle School and High School
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
See Examples For:
Cramer, I knew, believed in the healing power of meditation.
From Slate ● Sep. 22, 2026
One of Rosales’ favorite books is Rankine’s “Citizen: An American Lyric,” a meditation on Black life and death in the U.S.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 9, 2026
In this case, the “fragment” was “The Unanswered Question,” Ives’s haunting meditation on existence, with a questing trumpet at its center.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 8, 2026
Among those features will be meditation exercises created by Calm to help users process the day’s events.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 8, 2026
Dad tells me a few more times, between my holiday shifts at Pagoda and his new meditation routine, that he thinks I’m cool.
From "Please Ignore Vera Dietz" by A.S. King
There were other features in the app that I didn’t fully utilize, like journal prompts, mood trackers, meditations, and more.
From Slate ● Sep. 6, 2026
Both “WandaVision” and “Agatha” were meditations on grief, trauma and motherhood, by way of sitcoms and magical escape rooms, respectively.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 1, 2026
There are cameos from the economist Ben Bernanke, Elon Musk and the PayPal co-founder Peter Thiel, plus meditations on business, the environment and technology, and episodes that cover a range of 21st-century upheavals.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 24, 2026
“Fantasy” resulted from his meditations within the pyramids of Giza and his claimed communications with aliens.
From Salon ● Jun. 7, 2026
Emma’s pensive meditations, as she walked home, were not interrupted; but on entering the parlour, she found those who must rouse her.
From "Emma" by Jane Austen
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
