magnum opus

American  

noun

1. a great work, especially the chief work of a writer or artist.

   Proust's magnum opus is Remembrance of Things Past.

---

magnum opus British  

noun

1. a great work of art or literature, esp the greatest single work of an artist

---

magnum opus Cultural  

1. The most important work in a person's career, especially in literature, art, or scholarship: “Moby Dick was Melville's magnum opus.” From Latin, meaning “great work.”

---

Etymology

Origin of magnum opus

Borrowed into English from Latin around 1785–95

Example Sentences

But for range and ambition, John Dos Passos’ three-volume magnum opus makes a claim to the accolade.

From The Wall Street Journal • Jun. 19, 2026

Yet long before earning all these accolades, Shakira was a teen girl in Baranquilla, Colombia, waiting in line at her local record store for a copy of Nirvana’s 1991 grunge magnum opus, “Nevermind.”

From Los Angeles Times • Mar. 18, 2026

The following year Skepta released his own magnum opus, Konnichiwa.

From BBC • Oct. 31, 2025

It’s a magnum opus from the culinary icon behind Kogi, “L.A. Son,” and “The Chef Show” — a book built on balance and compassion.

From Salon • May 23, 2025

Copernicus published his magnum opus on his deathbed—in 1543, just before the church started clamping down on new ideas.

From "Zero: The Biography of a Dangerous Idea" by Charles Seife