memorial

American  

[muh-mawr-ee-uhl, -mohr-] / məˈmɔr i əl, -ˈmoʊr- /

noun

• memorials
  plural

1. something designed to preserve the memory of a person, event, etc., as a monument or a holiday.

2. a written statement of facts presented to a sovereign, a legislative body, etc., as the ground of, or expressed in the form of, a petition or remonstrance.

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adjective

1. preserving the memory of a person or thing; commemorative.

   memorial services.

2. of or relating to the memory.

memorial British  

/ mɪˈmɔːrɪəl /

adjective

1. serving to preserve the memory of the dead or a past event

2. of or involving memory

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noun

1. something serving as a remembrance

2. a written statement of facts submitted to a government, authority, etc, in conjunction with a petition

3. an informal diplomatic paper

Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• memorially
  adverb

Inflected Forms

Nouns

• memorials
  plural

Etymology

Origin of memorial

1350–1400; Middle English < Late Latin memoriāle, noun use of neuter of Latin memoriālis for or containing memoranda. See memory, -al ¹

Explanation

Just as the Lincoln Memorial pays tribute to Abraham Lincoln, a memorial is anything that symbolizes or celebrates someone who died. Every gravestone in a cemetery is actually a small memorial. A memorial is a service or statue dedicated to someone who died. A memorial service celebrates the life of the deceased. Something written about the dead person can also be called a memorial, and you could say donating to a dead friend's favorite cause is a memorial to them. If it honors the dead, the word memorial probably fits.

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

memorial memorials

"I have always felt something sacred here at this park," the 36-year-old told AFP recently, after burning incense near a memorial plaque.

From Barron's ● Oct. 14, 2026

A short prayer and a moment of silence will be held in the memorial garden, and King Charles and Prince William will lay wreaths.

From BBC ● Oct. 12, 2026

In a statement released by his office on Wednesday afternoon, Netanyahu said he had lit a memorial candle commemorating every victim of 7 October.

From BBC ● Oct. 7, 2026

Since Nungaray-Martinez’s death, there’s been an outpouring of grief at the school in Highland Park, with hundreds attending a memorial on campus the day after.

From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 6, 2026

Mr. Stieglitz sat down at his desk, his face as cold and expressionless as a memorial bust.

From "The City Beautiful" by Aden Polydoros

On college campuses, the day is now often observed through academic discussions instead of memorials.

From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 11, 2026

They encounter what happened through photographs, documentaries, memorials, classroom lessons and stories told by people who were alive on that day.

From Salon ● Sep. 8, 2026

Watch the video above for an inside look at how front-line cash is transforming Ulan-Ude’s impoverished economy—even as cemeteries and war memorials continue to expand.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 1, 2026

In parts of Serbia and Bosnia's Serb statelet, Republika Srpska, Mladic is still lauded as a hero, and his death was greeted with vigils and memorials overnight.

From Barron's ● Aug. 28, 2026

Twenty stone monuments stood in a somber row along the crest of the glacier’s terminal moraine, overlooking the mist-filled valley: memorials to climbers who had died on Everest, most of them Sherpa.

From "Into Thin Air" by Jon Krakauer

Related Words

• ceremony
• headstone
• mausoleum
• plaque
• remembrance
• statue
• tombstone