memorial

American  

[muh-mawr-ee-uhl, -mohr-] / məˈmɔr i əl, -ˈmoʊr- /

noun

memorials plural

1. something designed to preserve the memory of a person, event, etc., as a monument or a holiday.

2. a written statement of facts presented to a sovereign, a legislative body, etc., as the ground of, or expressed in the form of, a petition or remonstrance.

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adjective

1. preserving the memory of a person or thing; commemorative.

   memorial services.

2. of or relating to the memory.

memorial British  

/ mɪˈmɔːrɪəl /

adjective

1. serving to preserve the memory of the dead or a past event

2. of or involving memory

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noun

1. something serving as a remembrance

2. a written statement of facts submitted to a government, authority, etc, in conjunction with a petition

3. an informal diplomatic paper

Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• memorially
  adverb

Inflected Forms

Nouns

• memorials
  plural

Etymology

Origin of memorial

1350–1400; Middle English < Late Latin memoriāle, noun use of neuter of Latin memoriālis for or containing memoranda. See memory, -al ¹

Explanation

Just as the Lincoln Memorial pays tribute to Abraham Lincoln, a memorial is anything that symbolizes or celebrates someone who died. Every gravestone in a cemetery is actually a small memorial. A memorial is a service or statue dedicated to someone who died. A memorial service celebrates the life of the deceased. Something written about the dead person can also be called a memorial, and you could say donating to a dead friend's favorite cause is a memorial to them. If it honors the dead, the word memorial probably fits.

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

memorial memorials

A tense family coalesces around the memorial of its eldest son, cut down in the prime of what seems like an argument-leaden life.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 10, 2026

A makeshift memorial for Salgado sprung up at the location of the shooting, with dozens of people visiting the site to pay their respects Friday.

From Barron's ● Jul. 10, 2026

"We are also awaiting guidance from the relevant authorities before confirming funeral and memorial arrangements."

From BBC ● Jul. 9, 2026

Kristi Noem, the former South Dakota governor and Trump’s former homeland security secretary, once gave him a 4-foot-tall replica of the memorial, with his face joining the four presidents.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 3, 2026

What was the matter with a good old-fashioned memorial?

From "Boots on the Ground: America's War in Vietnam" by Elizabeth Partridge

By 1949, Noguchi had completed an astonishing range of commissions—murals, architecture, parks, playgrounds, memorials, industrial designs and scenography.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 1, 2026

Even as a US citizen, she still feels the effects, especially when driving by the memorials set up to remember Pretti and Good.

From BBC ● Jun. 25, 2026

The argument over their status and memorials to UPA figures has long cast a shadow over diplomatic relations between the allies and neighbours.

From Barron's ● Jun. 25, 2026

There are plaques and memorials everywhere; the war and the Nazi occupation still seem present, even to younger generations who have lived among these memories their whole lives.

From Salon ● Jun. 9, 2026

Today, the entire length of the Western Front is marked by hundreds of graveyards and memorials to the soldiers who lost their lives fighting there.

From "The War to End All Wars: World War I" by Russell Freedman

Related Words

• ceremony
• headstone
• mausoleum
• plaque
• remembrance
• statue
• tombstone