memorial
Americannoun
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something designed to preserve the memory of a person, event, etc., as a monument or a holiday.
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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
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serving to preserve the memory of the dead or a past event
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of or involving memory
noun
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something serving as a remembrance
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a written statement of facts submitted to a government, authority, etc, in conjunction with a petition
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an informal diplomatic paper
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Nouns
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.
Vocabulary lists containing memorial
Memorial Day Words
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Memorial Day: Words of Respect and Remembrance
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May Vocabulary Words
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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.
And a 2016 US government study found perchlorate, an oxidizing agent used in fireworks, had made its way into groundwater and surface water around Mount Rushmore National Memorial, which holds annual July 4 shows.
From Barron's • Jul. 2, 2026
On June 5, workers began refilling the newly renovated Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool.
From Slate • Jun. 27, 2026
This was the instrument that Mr. Wonder examined when he arrived, unannounced, at Mediasound on Memorial Day weekend in 1971.
From The Wall Street Journal • Jun. 26, 2026
Among the sites has been the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool.
From BBC • Jun. 25, 2026
During the annual amateur Memorial Day tournament that May, he placed twenty-first.
From "Endgame" by Frank Brady
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.
