monument

[mon-yuh-muhnt, mon-yuh-ment]

noun

1. something erected in memory of a person, event, etc., as a building, pillar, or statue.

   the Washington Monument.

2. any building, megalith, etc., surviving from a past age, and regarded as of historical or archaeological importance.

3. any enduring evidence or notable example of something.

   a monument to human ingenuity.

4. an exemplar, model, or personification of some abstract quality, especially when considered to be beyond question.

   a monument of middle-class respectability.

5. an area or a site of interest to the public for its historical significance, great natural beauty, etc., preserved and maintained by a government.

6. a written tribute to a person, especially a posthumous one.

7. Surveying.,  an object, as a stone shaft, set in the ground to mark the boundaries of real estate or to mark a survey station.

8. a person considered as a heroic figure or of heroic proportions.

   He became a monument in his lifetime.

9. 1. Obsolete.,  a tomb; sepulcher.

   2. a statue.

verb (used with object)

1. to build a monument or monuments to; commemorate.

   to monument the nation's war dead.

2. to build a monument on.

   to monument a famous site.

monument

¹

/ ˈmɒnjʊmənt /

noun

1. an obelisk, statue, building, etc, erected in commemoration of a person or event or in celebration of something

2. a notable building or site, esp one preserved as public property

3. a tomb or tombstone

4. a literary or artistic work regarded as commemorative of its creator or a particular period

5. a boundary marker

6. an exceptional example

   his lecture was a monument of tedium

7. an obsolete word for statue

Monument

²

/ ˈmɒnjʊmənt /

noun

1. a tall columnar building designed (1671) by Sir Christopher Wren to commemorate the Fire of London (1666), which destroyed a large part of the medieval city

Other Word Forms

• monumentless adjective
• unmonumented adjective

Word History and Origins

Origin of monument¹

1250–1300; Middle English < Latin monumentum, equivalent to mon- (stem of monēre to remind, warn) + -u- (variant of -i- -i- before labials) + -mentum -ment

Word History and Origins

Origin of monument¹

C13: from Latin monumentum, from monēre to remind, advise

Example Sentences

“He spoke so fast that the amazing perversity of his arguments escaped undetected; what remains of them is a monument of ingenuity and insolence.”

Read more on The Wall Street Journal

The monument and adjacent Inspiration Park, unveiled in 2010 after years of planning, design and careful selection of the right words to honor Kennedy’s legacy, are a mess.

Read more on Los Angeles Times

Under the terms of the International Antarctic Treaty, the Endurance shipwreck is a designated historic monument and must not be disturbed in any way.

Read more on Literature

“Last year, some of the greatest living directors rallied to save a Los Angeles monument, the Village Theater in Westwood,” Reitman said in a statement.

Read more on Los Angeles Times

There was further criticism in October after a law was enacted to ban demonstrations in front of Greece's foremost military monument, the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier, near parliament.

Read more on Barron's

Related Words

• gravestone 
• headstone 
• marker 
• masterpiece 
• mausoleum 
• pillar 
• shrine 
• slab 
• statue 
• stele 
• stone 
• tablet 
• testament 
• tomb 
• tombstone 
• tribute