immortalize
Americanverb (used with object)
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to bestow unending fame upon; perpetuate.
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to make immortal; endow with immortality.
verb
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to give everlasting fame to, as by treating in a literary work
Macbeth was immortalized by Shakespeare
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to give immortality to
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biology to cause (cells) to reproduce indefinitely
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of immortalize
Explanation
When you immortalize something, you praise it in a way that's meant to last forever. You could immortalize your favorite pop star, for example, by carving a huge statue of him out of marble. The existence of Disneyland and Disney World has managed to immortalize the image of Mickey Mouse, especially the silhouette of his ears. Through the years, many artists have chosen to immortalize US presidents through public art like the Lincoln Memorial and Mount Rushmore. The verb immortalize comes from the adjective immortal, or "living forever," with its Latin root, immortalis, "deathless or undying."
Vocabulary lists containing immortalize
The Glass Castle
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"Texas v. Johnson, Majority Opinion" by William J. Brennan
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Whirligig
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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.
That’s the one thing I love about this book is that I can immortalize some of my personal heroes and places that I hold dear to my heart.
From Los Angeles Times • Apr. 23, 2026
The pharaohs of ancient Egypt built pyramids in the Valley of Kings to immortalize themselves.
From MarketWatch • Nov. 5, 2025
The new effort in Seattle emerges as a nationwide push to grapple with and immortalize the legacy and work of the Black Panther Party takes hold.
From Seattle Times • Apr. 14, 2024
Juanita McNeely, an uncompromising painter who used the language of Expressionism to immortalize the sweetest and most brutal moments of her own female experience, died on Oct.
From New York Times • Nov. 2, 2023
You do not immortalize the lost by writing about them.
From "The Fault in Our Stars" by John Green
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.
