Mona Lisa

American  

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

noun

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

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Mona Lisa British  

/ ˈməʊnə ˈliːzə /

noun

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

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Mona Lisa Cultural  

1. 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.

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Example Sentences

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

The fire brigade had to be called overnight after a burst pipe in the Louvre's Denon wing, which houses some of the museum's most valuable exhibits including the Mona Lisa, according to a statement.

From Barron's • Feb. 13, 2026

Yang noted that the Mona Lisa was used only as an example.

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

When the Louvre is founded after the French Revolution at the end of the 1700s, the Mona Lisa isn’t considered the finest Renaissance painting in the collection.

From "The Mona Lisa Vanishes" by Nicholas Day