memorial

American  

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

noun

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.

---

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

---

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

• memorially adverb

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

Example Sentences

They also laid flowers at a memorial, which has grown over the week, near Tumbler Ridge Secondary School.

From BBC

Among the oil paintings, art deco ephemera and geological artifacts, I wasn’t expecting a preserved memorial from the days following the 2015 terrorist attacks, and it leveled me.

From The Wall Street Journal

“We are painting our children’s names in the street and bringing this memorial to his doorstep because Evan Spiegel won’t acknowledge what his platform has taken from us,” she said in a statement.

From Los Angeles Times

A memorial beside the school grew on Thursday, as people left flowers, teddy bears and handwritten notes in honour of the victims.

From BBC

The building where he works in Berlin is also the site of a memorial to German officers executed for plotting against Hitler.

From The Wall Street Journal

Related Words

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