meditation
Americannoun
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meditations
plural
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the act of meditating.
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continued or extended thought; reflection; contemplation.
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devout religious contemplation or spiritual introspection.
noun
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the act of meditating; contemplation; reflection
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contemplation of spiritual matters, esp as a religious practice
Other Word Forms
Noun Inflected Forms
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.
Vocabulary lists containing meditation
World Religions
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South Asia - Introductory
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South Asia - Middle School and High School
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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.
See Examples For:
Every month the group meets in a different city park to do yoga and meditate together, and they also come together for online meditation sessions over Zoom.
From BBC ● Aug. 21, 2026
Some meditation apps also have in-built sound options that you can meditate to, though these sometimes come with a subscription cost.
From BBC ● Aug. 21, 2026
His first meditation session was July 1, 1973, and from there, he practiced twice a day, every single day.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 18, 2026
It has converted a waiting room, meditation room and other spaces into treatment areas.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 12, 2026
It had filled with colleagues and students and meditation teachers and therapists and nurses and a cappella groups.
From "Tuesdays with Morrie" by Mitch Albom
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
It features guided meditations on themes such as restorative sleep and reframing anxiety.
From BBC ● Mar. 22, 2026
His involvement grew serious after her death from cancer in 1972, and in “The Snow Leopard” his customarily graceful observations of nature shimmer with mystical meditations on grief, transcendence and enlightenment.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Nov. 21, 2025
They would frown at me for reading prayers and meditations when they preferred to gossip.
From "Ophelia" by Lisa Klein
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.
