Mona Lisa

American

[moh-nuh lee-suh, lee-zuh] / ˈmoʊ nə ˈli sə, ˈli zə /

noun

Italian La Gioconda. a portrait (1503?–05?) by Leonardo da Vinci.

Mona Lisa British

/ ˈməʊnə ˈliːzə /

noun

Also called: La Gioconda. a portrait of a young woman painted by Leonardo da Vinci, admired for her enigmatic smile

"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

Mona Lisa Cultural

A painting by Leonardo da Vinci of a woman with a mysterious smile. It is one of the most readily recognized paintings in the world.

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.

Smith also told the girl that he was "really proud" of her before referring to her as the best "hoody stealer", "bracelet addict", and "Mona Lisa friend", among other names.

From BBC • May 16, 2026

It is fitting, in fact, to see her as the Mona Lisa of Greco-Roman Egypt, a woman of undeniable yet enigmatic beauty.

From The Wall Street Journal • Feb. 20, 2026

By carefully designing the halftone patterns, they encoded the Mona Lisa image into flat films that later transformed into three-dimensional forms.

From Science Daily • Feb. 6, 2026

RZA and Wu-affiliate Cilvaringz wanted to up the value of art by treating a rap album like the Mona Lisa.

From Los Angeles Times • Jan. 25, 2026

Other people—all men—begin to see the Mona Lisa the same way.

From "The Mona Lisa Vanishes" by Nicholas Day

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023