museum
Americannoun
-
museums
plural
noun
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Etymology
Origin of museum
1605–15; < Latin mūsēum place sacred to the Muses, building devoted to learning or the arts (referring especially to the scholarly institute founded in Alexandria about 280 b.c.) < Greek Mouseîon, equivalent to Moûs ( a ) Muse + -eion suffix of place
Explanation
A museum is a place where interesting objects are displayed — like paintings, historical documents, and dinosaur skeletons. There are all kinds of museums. Art museums are some of the most well-known, such as the Louvre in Paris. The Natural History Museum, with its dinosaur skeletons and stuffed bears and lions, is one of New York's most famous. In Washington, DC, the Smithsonian is a group of impressive museums. Around the country, there are museums dedicated to sports, African-American culture, spies, and just about everything else. At any museum, you'll find a lot of tourists.
Vocabulary lists containing museum
"A Suitcase of Seaweed" and "Immigrants Today"
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Unit 5
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
See Examples For:
"This discovery highlights the importance of museum collections and the community support that keeps them alive," Cole said.
From Science Daily ● Aug. 21, 2026
In 1963, the Guggenheim staged “Six Painters and the Object,” becoming the first museum in New York to present the then-emerging style.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 21, 2026
The projector returned to the museum a few months ago.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 20, 2026
The work will be displayed from Friday at the Nakanoshima Museum of Art in Osaka while its home museum, the Mauritshuis in The Hague, closes until September 20 for maintenance.
From Barron's ● Aug. 20, 2026
“The museum is always out there with furs, and my little brother is all over those things.”
From "Wayward Creatures" by Dayna Lorentz
She analyzes the funding and art-buying activities of the world’s major museums, galleries, artists and collectors around the world.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 18, 2026
“Whether it’s going to see an orchestra show … museums or galleries, we really want to find ways to connect with those institutions.”
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 16, 2026
Mala Wangzi has opened pop-up museums around the country, held more than 4,000 latiao-themed weddings for superfan couples, and sponsored e-sport events, music festivals, and animation conventions.
From Barron's ● Aug. 14, 2026
All manner of unlikely and unfortunate actions can lead to the loss of fossils from museums.
From Science Daily ● Aug. 7, 2026
The various museums came in for their share of attention, together with the parks and the beaches and the aquarium.
From "I, Robot" by Isaac Asimov
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
