mural

American  

[myoor-uhl] / ˈmyʊər əl /

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.

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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

• muralist
  noun

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

Above the public library’s checkout desk is a mural of shirtless laborers toiling among smokestacks.

From The Wall Street Journal • May 6, 2026

The mural ceremony was held April 24 immediately after the school’s 50th annual district track meet, where Brown interacted with the participants and handed out ribbons.

From Los Angeles Times • May 4, 2026

Brown is also thrilled with how the first mural in her honor turned out.

From Los Angeles Times • May 4, 2026

Another mural depicts a man raising both arms, each wrapped in the Iranian flag, his hands forming a heart.

From Barron's • Apr. 22, 2026

“A painted mural is gonna be a more powerful vessel than a little chalk sketch.”

From "Shadowshaper" by Daniel José Older

Related Words

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