mausoleum
Americannoun
-
mausoleums,
plural
-
mausolea
plural
-
a stately and magnificent tomb.
-
a burial place for the bodies or remains of many individuals, often of a single family, usually in the form of a small building.
-
a large, gloomy, depressing building, room, or the like.
-
(initial capital letter) the tomb erected at Halicarnassus in Asia Minor in 350? b.c.
noun
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Etymology
Origin of mausoleum
1375–1425; late Middle English < Latin < Greek Mausoleîon the tomb of Mausolus, king of Caria
Explanation
A mausoleum is a building that contains a tomb or tombs. The Taj Mahal, built by Shah Jahan as a monument to his third wife, Mumtaz Mahal, is the world's most famous mausoleum. Mausoleion, the Greek source of the Latinized mausoleum, was the name given to the tomb of the King Mausolus, a Persian ruler who died in 353 B.C.E. This vast elaborate structure was one of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World. Other notable mausoleums or mausolea include the mausoleum of China's First Qin Emperor –- the site of the famous Terra Cotta Army — and the tombs of Ulysses S. Grant and Abraham Lincoln.
Vocabulary lists containing mausoleum
You Name It: Eponyms
Looking to grow your vocabulary? Check out this interactive, curated word list from our team of English language specialists at Vocabulary.com – one of over 17,000 lists we've built to help learners worldwide!
Some Obscure Eponyms
Interested in learning more words like this one? Our team at Vocabulary.com has got you covered! You can review flashcards, quiz yourself, practice spelling, and more – and it's all completely free to use!
100 Great Words from "Fahrenheit 451" -- Part I Vocabulary
Want to remember this word for good? Start your learning journey today with our library of interactive, themed word lists built by the experts at Vocabulary.com – we'll help you make the most of your study time!
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:
The service will be followed by a private burial in Norway's royal mausoleum in the Akershus Fortress.
From BBC ● Sep. 5, 2026
The bronze crypt plate mounted at the mausoleum had the star’s name engraved on it before she died, alongside her husband’s name and a depiction of her Tennessee home.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 31, 2026
A room on the Taj Mahal—Shah Jahan’s mausoleum for his wife Mumtaz Mahal, and the Mughals’ most famous landmark—feels a little underwhelming: Nothing could replace being there.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 11, 2026
And Stalin himself, whose body was initially interred in the same mausoleum that housed the embalmed Vladimir Lenin, was subjected to criticism for some of his evil deeds.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 10, 2026
From the direction of the mausoleum there came a high, hopeless cry, not a scream, just a desperate wail of protest.
From "The Book of Dust: La Belle Sauvage" by Philip Pullman
“What does it mean to have some lone surviving mausolea in the middle of a massive jumble of roads and traffic?”
From Seattle Times ● Sep. 10, 2023
"It looks like a large number of villa buildings, along with a probable bath house and perhaps even mausolea and a chapel," said Dr Gater.
From BBC ● Mar. 4, 2022
The National Museum of African American History and Culture now stands as a glittering golden crown on the Mall, in Washington DC, a brilliant foil to the neighbouring rows of white stone mausolea.
From The Guardian ● Oct. 28, 2017
The Romans, says Pausanias, called all their most magnificent tombs mausolea after this monument to Mausolua, and hence our modern term mausoleum.
From The Works of Alexander Pope, Volume 1 New Edition by Alexander Pope
Although the cemetery was mostly occupied by military men, the high-roads which cross it were lined with mausolea belonging to historical families.
From Pagan and Christian Rome by Rodolfo Amedeo Lanciani
A Cuban tour guide at Havana’s historic Colón Cemetery, a popular visitor draw because of its elaborate monuments and mausoleums, said she lost her job this spring as tourism collapsed.
From The Wall Street Journal ● May 27, 2026
Conservative governor Tarcisio de Freitas on Tuesday signed the so-called Bob Coveiro law that will allow pets to be buried in family graves or mausoleums across Sao Paulo state.
From Barron's ● Feb. 10, 2026
Jardines del Humaya, a sprawling cemetery on the outskirts of Sinaloa’s capital, Culiacán, contains several enormous mausoleums, including one made to resemble the Taj Mahal.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jan. 17, 2025
Ahmad al-Faqi al-Mahdi admitted to leading fighters who destroyed historic mausoleums at the world heritage site in Mali in 2012.
From BBC ● Nov. 20, 2024
The mare stopped, letting them survey the stones, the willow tree dangling its fingers over the rooftops of the two small mausoleums, the dusky grove of poplars beyond.
From "Bone Gap" by Laura Ruby
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.
