Dictionary.com
Thesaurus.com
Synonyms

mausoleum

American  
[maw-suh-lee-uhm, -zuh-] / ˌmɔ səˈli əm, -zə- /

noun

plural

mausoleums, mausolea

  1. a stately and magnificent tomb.

  2. a burial place for the bodies or remains of many individuals, often of a single family, usually in the form of a small building.

  3. a large, gloomy, depressing building, room, or the like.

  4. (initial capital letter) the tomb erected at Halicarnassus in Asia Minor in 350? b.c.

mausoleum British  
/ ˌmɔːsəˈlɪəm /

noun

  1. a large stately tomb

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012
mausoleum Cultural  

  1. A tomb, or a building containing tombs. Mausoleums are often richly decorated. The Taj Mahal is a mausoleum.

Other Word Forms

  • mausolean adjective

Etymology

Origin of mausoleum

1375–1425; late Middle English < Latin < Greek Mausoleîon the tomb of Mausolus, king of Caria

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.

Knight also entered a mausoleum behind the altar and opened up a box containing ashes, Fraser said.

From BBC • Mar. 9, 2026

The two men -- dubbed "eternal leaders" in state propaganda -- are housed in the Kumsusan Palace of the Sun, a vast mausoleum in downtown Pyongyang.

From Barron's • Jan. 2, 2026

The North Korean leader's daughter Kim Ju Ae has made her first visit to a mausoleum housing her grandfather and great-grandfather, state media images showed Friday, further solidifying her place as her father's successor.

From Barron's • Jan. 2, 2026

Odinga was buried nearby at his late father's homestead, where there is a family mausoleum.

From BBC • Oct. 19, 2025

Instead, he has chosen the roof of the mausoleum, a one- room crypt holding the remains of four members of the Conchalitos family, the owners of a local restaurant.

From "Enrique's Journey" by Sonia Nazario

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.