museum
Americannoun
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A museum is a place where interesting objects are displayed — like paintings, historical documents, and dinosaur skeletons.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.
The museum in Dayton, Ohio, has a gallery of former presidential aircraft.
From The Wall Street Journal • Jul. 5, 2026
From a science standpoint, "the content of the documents is absolutely incredible", said Francois Kervyn, the museum geologist leading the project, describing decades of painstaking fieldwork carried out in largely unmapped regions.
From Barron's • Jul. 3, 2026
V&A Dundee director Leonie Bell said she "couldn't be happier" that the museum was hosting the exhibition.
From BBC • Jul. 1, 2026
"I mean, people have asked here if when he pops his clogs ... can he be stuffed for the museum?"
From Barron's • Jul. 1, 2026
Uh, I don’t think this is about the museum anymore.
From "The Manifestor Prophecy" by Angie Thomas
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.
