mural

[myoor-uhl]

noun

1. a large picture painted or affixed directly on a wall or ceiling.

2. a greatly enlarged photograph attached directly to a wall.

3. a wallpaper pattern representing a landscape or the like, often with very widely spaced repeats so as to produce the effect of a mural painting on a wall of average size; a trompe l'oeil.

adjective

1. of, relating to, or resembling a wall.

2. executed on or affixed to a wall.

   mural inscriptions.

3. pertaining to any of several astronomical instruments that were affixed to a wall aligned on the plane of a meridian, and were formerly used to measure the altitude of celestial bodies.

   a mural quadrant; a mural circle.

mural

/ ˈmjʊərəl /

noun

1. a large painting or picture on a wall

adjective

1. of or relating to a wall

mural

1. A painting, usually large, made directly on a wall.

The Mexican artist Diego Rivera was noted for his production of murals.

Other Word Forms

• muralist noun

Word History and Origins

Origin of mural¹

1400–50; late Middle English < Latin mūrālis, equivalent to mūr ( us ) wall + -ālis -al ¹

Word History and Origins

Origin of mural¹

C15: from Latin mūrālis, from mūrus wall

Example Sentences

A mural of Rashford, who led a campaign against the government's plans to scrap free school meals out of term time, was defaced in south Manchester following the final.

Read more on BBC

The large-scale mural looms above several popular riverside restaurants in the upmarket town.

Read more on Barron's

Students and parents said the floating blue lockers and cafeteria murals are the same as in the movie.

Read more on The Wall Street Journal

The mural itself had been damaged in spots by all the wallpapering done over it, so she was not able to make out the artist’s signature.

Read more on Literature

Even steady rain didn’t stop volunteers from gathering Saturday morning to begin restoring a beloved community mural first painted by Palisades Charter High School students in the early 1980s.

Read more on Los Angeles Times

Related Words

• art 
• canvas 
• composition 
• depiction 
• landscape 
• oil painting 
• picture 
• portrait 
• sketch