an institution for the promotion of literary or scientific learning.
a library or reading room.
(initial capital letter) a sanctuary of Athena at Athens, built by the Roman emperor Hadrian, and frequented by poets and scholars.
(in ancient Greece) a building sacred to the goddess Athena, esp the Athenian temple that served as a gathering place for the learned
(in imperial Rome) the academy of learning established near the Forum in about 135 ad by Hadrian
an institution for the promotion of learning
a building containing a reading room or library, esp one used by such an institution
1720–30; < Latin < Greek Athḗnaion temple of Athena, where poets read their works
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
In the 1800s, the Fairbanks brothers moved to town, earning their fortune through the invention and production of the platform scale; they founded a museum, athenaeum and academy, all operating to this day.
From Washington Post ● Oct. 8, 2020
The back of his state-issued S.U.V. is stacked with notebooks filled with ideas and data culled from books and articles and conversations with nearly four hundred experts; it’s a kind of rolling athenaeum.
From The New Yorker ● Oct. 29, 2018
But Dotty was not at the athenaeum that night.
From The New Yorker ● Apr. 18, 2017
This was on April 20, 2016, the day after a book event at Folio, a brand-new athenaeum in downtown Seattle, where I had been expecting to see Dotty Guth, a former New Yorker colleague.
From The New Yorker ● Apr. 18, 2017
He offered him a whole square next to that where the college, the courthouse, the church, the library, the athenaeum, and all the public buildings were situated….
From Choice Specimens of American Literature, and Literary Reader Being Selections from the Chief American Writers by Martin, Benj. N.
Unlike the Vaughan and Athenaeum portraits, he doesn’t look out at us but into the distance.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 26, 2026
The Vaughan and Athenaeum portraits were an immediate hit and became the templates: Over time, Stuart would paint over 100 of them, including for such international luminaries as Viscount Cremorne, Benjamin West and Aaron Burr.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 26, 2026
They thought they’d be opening for someone else, but the demand was high enough that they quickly sold out the nearly 1,000-seat Athenaeum Center as headliners.
From Los Angeles Times ● Dec. 29, 2025
Devon and Cornwall Police said officers were called at about 18:50 GMT to the Notte Street and Athenaeum Street area, in Plymouth, on Monday.
From BBC ● Dec. 24, 2025
She also told him that she did not approve of Lyell’s idea that he and Charles should dine every evening at the Athenaeum Club, leaving the wives at home alone.
From "Charles and Emma: The Darwins' Leap of Faith" by Deborah Heiligman
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.
