memorabilia
Americanplural noun
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mementos; souvenirs.
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matters or events worthy to be remembered; points worthy of note.
plural noun
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memorable events or things
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objects connected with famous people or events
Etymology
Origin of memorabilia
1800–10; noun use of Latin memorābilia things to be remembered, neuter plural of memorābilis memorable
Explanation
The noun memorabilia describes items that remind you of a certain event or time period. Parents who save every drawing and report card their children bring home are collecting memorabilia for the future. Been there, done that, got the t-shirt? That t-shirt is memorabilia. Memorabilia refers to anything that commemorates an event. It shows you were there — you have the t-shirt to prove it. But t-shirts didn't even exist in 1806, the year memorabilia was coined from the Latin word memorare, meaning "to bring to mind." You save memorabilia to help you remember, or jog your memory.
Vocabulary lists containing memorabilia
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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.
Memorabilia from David Bowie, Jimi Hendrix and other music legends will also be on offer, with the auction estimated to have a combined value of more than £3 million.
From Barron's • Oct. 21, 2025
Goldin’s Hollywood Props & Memorabilia auction, featuring Harrison Ford’s “Indiana Jones” whip, a “Star Wars” Stormtrooper prototype helmet and George Reeves’ “Superman” suit, is currently live.
From Los Angeles Times • Jul. 18, 2025
Memorabilia autographed by female athletes covered the walls, with a painting of U.S. soccer legend Abby Wambach mounted above the chalkboard beer menu.
From Seattle Times • Apr. 26, 2024
Memorabilia belonging to Jackson has previously sold for thousands, including a black fedora hat that he wore just before performing his famous moonwalk dance for the first time in 1983.
From BBC • Nov. 10, 2023
In Memorabilia he afterwards recorded the strong intellectual and emotional excitement, the thrill and ecstasy of this poetical experience.
From Selections from the Poems and Plays of Robert Browning by Reynolds, Myra
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.
