monument

[mon-yuh-muhnt, mon-yuh-ment]

noun

1. something erected in memory of a person, event, etc., as a building, pillar, or statue.

   the Washington Monument.

2. any building, megalith, etc., surviving from a past age, and regarded as of historical or archaeological importance.

3. any enduring evidence or notable example of something.

   a monument to human ingenuity.

4. an exemplar, model, or personification of some abstract quality, especially when considered to be beyond question.

   a monument of middle-class respectability.

5. an area or a site of interest to the public for its historical significance, great natural beauty, etc., preserved and maintained by a government.

6. a written tribute to a person, especially a posthumous one.

7. Surveying.,  an object, as a stone shaft, set in the ground to mark the boundaries of real estate or to mark a survey station.

8. a person considered as a heroic figure or of heroic proportions.

   He became a monument in his lifetime.

9. 1. Obsolete.,  a tomb; sepulcher.

   2. a statue.

verb (used with object)

1. to build a monument or monuments to; commemorate.

   to monument the nation's war dead.

2. to build a monument on.

   to monument a famous site.

monument

¹

/ ˈmɒnjʊmənt /

noun

1. an obelisk, statue, building, etc, erected in commemoration of a person or event or in celebration of something

2. a notable building or site, esp one preserved as public property

3. a tomb or tombstone

4. a literary or artistic work regarded as commemorative of its creator or a particular period

5. a boundary marker

6. an exceptional example

   his lecture was a monument of tedium

7. an obsolete word for statue

Monument

²

/ ˈmɒnjʊmənt /

noun

1. a tall columnar building designed (1671) by Sir Christopher Wren to commemorate the Fire of London (1666), which destroyed a large part of the medieval city

Other Word Forms

• monumentless adjective
• unmonumented adjective

Word History and Origins

Origin of monument¹

1250–1300; Middle English < Latin monumentum, equivalent to mon- (stem of monēre to remind, warn) + -u- (variant of -i- -i- before labials) + -mentum -ment

Word History and Origins

Origin of monument¹

C13: from Latin monumentum, from monēre to remind, advise

Example Sentences

A manager told the BBC the building was closed like other federal monuments.

From BBC

For a history buff, the region is fascinating - Burgess says just travelling around there are "monuments that you constantly drive past which remind you of the First and Second World Wars".

From BBC

In other words, digital culture transforms what was once the slow work of monuments and textbooks into a living, flexible folk religion of culture and politics.

From Salon

When Towelie takes a trip to the capital in this episode, he sees armed troops guarding monuments like the Washington and Lincoln memorials and the Capitol surrounded by tanks and jets.

From Los Angeles Times

Graceland, the rock legend's home of 20 years before his death in 1977, is a monument to his musical career and legacy, welcoming a half million visitors each year.

From BBC

Related Words

• gravestone 
• headstone 
• marker 
• masterpiece 
• mausoleum 
• pillar 
• shrine 
• slab 
• statue 
• stele 
• stone 
• tablet 
• testament 
• tomb 
• tombstone 
• tribute