mural

American  

[myoor-uhl] / ˈmjʊər əl /

noun

• murals
  plural

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.

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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 British  

/ ˈmjʊərəl /

noun

1. a large painting or picture on a wall

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adjective

1. of or relating to a wall

mural Cultural  

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

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Discover More

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

Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• muralist
  noun

Inflected Forms

Nouns

• murals
  plural

Etymology

Origin of mural

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

Explanation

A mural is a large-scale painting usually done on a wall. Diego Rivera, the Mexican muralist, is famous for the plaster murals he painted on the walls at Rockefeller Center in the 1930s. Famous murals include the wall designs in the Sistine Chapel in the Vatican in Rome, and the Coit Tower murals in San Francisco. Many murals were created during the Renaissance, and again during the New Deal. They are also common features of urban settings — painted on the outsides of buildings and on playground walls.

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

mural murals

The Diego Rivera mural, that one was really amazing — and just the history here, having it be in L.A.

From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 23, 2026

On a street in southern Israel, a graffiti artist paints a mural depicting the filmmakers behind the award-winning documentary "NAZA".

From Barron's ● Sep. 17, 2026

In the southern port city of Ashdod, the artist behind the mural of Abraham and Szor unleashed a torrent of insults at the filmmakers, who are currently abroad.

From Barron's ● Sep. 17, 2026

Jordan’s mural utilizes the flush mount dome in the center of the dining room ceiling as an Art Deco-inspired star motif, with painted white points extending from it for emphasis.

From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 9, 2026

There’s NoahandJude spray-painted from behind, shoulder to shoulder, our hair braided together into a river of light and dark that wraps around the whole mural.

From "I'll Give You the Sun" by Jandy Nelson

The Whitney’s presentation—without soothsayers, murals or drapes—is decidedly more neutral.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 30, 2026

Living alone in Los Angeles for the first time, Jordan had visions of eclectic murals to match her vintage furniture and art collection.

From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 9, 2026

During all this time, his reputation grew, his wartime leadership immortalised in murals around Republika Srpska -- the Serbian entity within Bosnia.

From Barron's ● Aug. 27, 2026

Banksy, who emerged from Bristol's graffiti scene in the 1990s and became one of the world's most famous street artists, is known for murals and installations that often appear overnight and attract large crowds.

From BBC ● Aug. 8, 2026

The whitewash was only partially completed, and the kiva murals were veiled under the white clay wash, not yet repainted for the winter ceremonies.

From "Ceremony:" by Leslie Marmon Silko

Related Words

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