noun
verb
Other Word Forms
Noun Inflected Forms
Etymology
Origin of souvenir
1765–75; < French, noun use of ( se ) souvenir to remember < Latin subvenīre to come to mind, equivalent to sub- sub- + venīre to come
Explanation
A souvenir is a keepsake or a remembrance. A telltale sign that someone has visited Paris is the tiny, metal Eiffel Tower hanging from her keychain as a souvenir. First recorded in 1775 as meaning “a remembrance or memory,” the noun souvenir stems from the French souvenir “to remember, come to mind.” A few years later, it took on the sense of “a token” of an event or experience. A song by Tears for Fears goes, “Love is a promise, love is a souvenir, once given never forgotten, never let it disappear.” Here, souvenir refers to a feeling, but more often it refers to something tangible, like a memento, gift, or trophy.
Vocabulary lists containing souvenir
Inside Out & Back Again
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Bronx Masquerade
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Mardi Gras: Fun
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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.
See Examples For:
In 1764, an English sailor named Samuel Bowen arrived in Savannah, Georgia, with a handful of soybeans, a souvenir from several years spent in China.
From Salon ● Sep. 13, 2026
Not far from the cafe where Osborn met with voters, Calvin Pemberton owns a Trump souvenir shop next to his car detailing business, where he sells flags, t-shirts and hats with the Republican president's likeness.
From Barron's ● Sep. 11, 2026
I ended up leaving with the Hotel Mar-a-Lago shirt, which Bill insisted I take as a souvenir of my visit, refusing my money when I pulled out my wallet.
From Slate ● Aug. 14, 2026
“I made a mistake,” she said in a phone interview from Ukraine, as she looked for remnants of a Russian drone to bring home as a souvenir.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 24, 2026
We finished our Cokes, and I handed back the pencil to the guy behind the counter, and Meryl Lee took my placemat as a souvenir, and we walked to the car, hand in hand.
From "The Wednesday Wars" by Gary D. Schmidt
Not only are the travel costs low, we have no space for souvenirs.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 2, 2026
The risk is compounded by the elimination in 2021 of a rebate program that allowed tourists to reclaim the value-added tax they paid on souvenirs.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 14, 2026
Many presidents, however, have given souvenirs or personal mementos to staff.
From BBC ● Sep. 9, 2026
Other L.A. souvenirs included a replica bandshell from the Hollywood Bowl and a tiny pagoda from the Chinese Theatre.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 10, 2026
In fact, the burned-out city became a magnet for the curious who clogged the streets to see the ruins and poke through the rubble for souvenirs.
From "The Great Fire" by Jim Murphy
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.
