meditation

American  

[med-i-tay-shuhn] / ˌmɛd ɪˈteɪ ʃən /

noun

• meditations
  plural

1. the act of meditating.

2. continued or extended thought; reflection; contemplation.

3. Transcendental Meditation.

4. devout religious contemplation or spiritual introspection.

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meditation British  

/ ˌmɛdɪˈteɪʃən /

noun

1. the act of meditating; contemplation; reflection

2. contemplation of spiritual matters, esp as a religious practice

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Other Word Forms

Noun Inflected Forms

• meditations
  plural

Etymology

Origin of meditation

First recorded in 1175–1225; from Latin meditātiōn-, stem of meditātiō “contemplation, planning”; equivalent to meditate + -ion

Explanation

A meditation is an extended period of thought or concentration. If you practice yoga and you often meditate, you know what meditation is. But any time you focus on one thing for a long time, it's an act of meditation. After you've thought about something for a while, you can write about it, and that writing could be called a meditation, too. Beethoven's Ode to Joy is a meditation on joy. If you're easily upset by things, consider meditation. Slowing down your thought process and concentrating on it for a while can make you feel better. Samurai were known for meditating before going into battle. Meditation gave them focus, and focus gave them power.

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

meditation meditations

Philadelphia Eagles running back Saquon Barkley talked about modifying his workouts, taking inspiration from Kobe Bryant and his animal-themed meditation technique.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 26, 2026

He began a yearslong meditation regimen to find the source of that trauma.

From Slate ● Sep. 22, 2026

Barkley, who lives with his fiancée, Anna Congdon, and their three young children in a Philadelphia suburb, talked about modifying his workouts, taking inspiration from Kobe Bryant and his animal-themed meditation technique.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 21, 2026

When I wake up, the first thing I will do is meditation.

From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 14, 2026

The words jolted me out of deep meditation.

From "Schooled" by Gordon Korman

This fresh attempt to clarify his position is styled by Mr. Fukuyama as a memoir, but it is better seen as a series of meditations—the meditations, in truth, of a misunderstood man.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 8, 2026

There were other features in the app that I didn’t fully utilize, like journal prompts, mood trackers, meditations, and more.

From Slate ● Sep. 6, 2026

Both “WandaVision” and “Agatha” were meditations on grief, trauma and motherhood, by way of sitcoms and magical escape rooms, respectively.

From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 1, 2026

“Fantasy” resulted from his meditations within the pyramids of Giza and his claimed communications with aliens.

From Salon ● Jun. 7, 2026

And, unfortunately, at that moment I realized that all my pee-mantra meditations with Mr. Farrow and the recounting of the story actually did make me want to pee, but I wasn’t about to move, either.

From "Winger" by Andrew Smith

Related Words

• introspection
• reflection
• rumination
• self-examination