eternal flame

American  

[ih-tur-nl fleym] / ɪˈtɜr nl ˈfleɪm /

noun

1. a contained fire ignited ceremonially and kept burning, usually in a public place and as a perpetual memorial or symbol.

   On our trip to the United States we visited the grave of President John F. Kennedy, where there is an eternal flame.

   The Peace Memorial Park in Hiroshima features an eternal flame symbolizing the hope for a world free of nuclear weapons.

2. a fire ignited naturally or accidentally, sometimes burning underground, and fueled by deposits of coal or natural gas that keep it from going out.

   At the Burning Mountain in Australia, an eternal flame has been slowly burning underground for 6,000 years.

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Etymology

Origin of eternal flame

First recorded in 1590–1600

Example Sentences

At the bottom of some steps burns an eternal flame surrounded by the names of Nazi concentration and extermination camps.

From BBC • Jan. 27, 2025

An eternal flame burns by a crypt containing the ashes of Holocaust victims to commemorate the 6 million Jews killed by Nazi Germany and its collaborators during World War II.

From Washington Times • Sep. 11, 2023

And, in the center with an eternal flame, would be a simple stone marker as spare and unsentimental as Ivana’s:

From Washington Post • Aug. 1, 2022

At a memorial ceremony, Mr. Biden is expected to rekindle the eternal flame and lay a wreath.

From New York Times • Jul. 13, 2022

It reminded me of the eternal flame they’d put on John F. Kennedy’s grave that will never go out no matter what.

From "The Secret Life of Bees" by Sue Monk Kidd