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• monument
  monument

  noun

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

  noun

  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

monument

American  

[mon-yuh-muhnt, mon-yuh-ment] / ˈmɒn jə mənt, ˈmɒn jəˌmɛnt /

noun

• monuments
  plural

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.

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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 British  

/ 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

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Monument ² British  

/ 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

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Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• monumentless
  adjective
• unmonumented
  adjective

Inflected Forms

Nouns

• monuments
  plural

Etymology

Origin of monument

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

Explanation

A monument is a statue or other sculpture meant to honor a great person, like the Lincoln Monument or Washington Monument. You can find monuments in the downtown area of most cities. Many honor a specific person, while other are dedicated to soldiers who fought in a certain war, such as Vietnam or World War I. Cemeteries are also full of monuments, and monument can mean a type of burial vault. Whenever people create a monument, they're trying to make sure that a person or event is remembered.

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

monument Monument monuments

Adhesive tape allowed them to collect tiny mineral grains from the stones without damaging the monument.

From Science Daily ● Sep. 9, 2026

In 2025, he recorded his best finish of second in the other monument - Paris-Roubaix.

From BBC ● Aug. 29, 2026

During her lifetime, however, the singer famously resisted at least one attempt to turn her into a monument.

From Salon ● Aug. 29, 2026

Ultimately, residents voted to keep the monument in place, just a short walk from the Kremlin.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 28, 2026

A hub of hydrogen bomb research, the Livermore National Laboratory would be Ernest Lawrence’s final monument.

From "Big Science" by Michael Hiltzik

When a bat tested positive for rabies in Jewel Cave National Monument in South Dakota on July 29, officials released a statement about two weeks later.

From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 4, 2026

Her first major country solo single for Monument, “Dumb Blonde,” written by Curly Putman, was released in 1966 and reached No. 24 on Billboard’s country chart.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 25, 2026

The drivers sped past the Washington Monument and museums on the National Mall, before passing a finish line with the US Capitol building in frame.

From BBC ● Aug. 23, 2026

That earlier rollback cut Bears Ears National Monument by 85 percent and Grand Staircase-Escalante by 45 percent.

From Barron's ● Jul. 13, 2026

I leave the house and follow the streets from the Sarsfield Barracks to the Monument Cafe.

From "Angela's Ashes: A Memoir" by Frank McCourt

Due to its location at the foothills of the Theban mountain, monuments in this area are extremely vulnerable to flash flooding from intense bursts of rain.

From Science Daily ● Sep. 10, 2026

"Unfortunately, the process of rewriting history is much bigger, much deeper. It's also the destruction of monuments," said Zhemkova.

From Barron's ● Sep. 4, 2026

Glyndŵr has since become a figurehead for Welsh nationalism and there are statues, monuments, pubs and street names across Wales commemorating him.

From BBC ● Sep. 3, 2026

Critics say the triumphal arch would block or disrupt the sightline of other historic monuments.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 3, 2026

With its stone buildings, monuments, and perfectly trimmed trees, it reminds me of Washington, DC.

From "The Manifestor Prophecy" by Angie Thomas

Related Words

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