museum
Americannoun
noun
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
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A museum is a place where interesting objects are displayed — like paintings, historical documents, and dinosaur skeletons.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"
Looking to grow your vocabulary? Check out this interactive, curated word list from our team of English language specialists at Vocabulary.com – one of over 17,000 lists we've built to help learners worldwide!
This Week in Words: Current Events Vocab for May 7–May 13, 2022
Interested in learning more words like this one? Our team at Vocabulary.com has got you covered! You can review flashcards, quiz yourself, practice spelling, and more – and it's all completely free to use!
Unit 5
Want to remember this word for good? Start your learning journey today with our library of interactive, themed word lists built by the experts at Vocabulary.com – we'll help you make the most of your study time!
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.
As we reached a certain age, we could take the bus alone to downtown Denver for various activities like art classes at the children’s art museum or the big main library.
From The Wall Street Journal • May 31, 2026
"It's taken a lot of DNA sequencing to fully identify this fungus," he says, showing me dead moss under a microscope in a lab at Amgueddfa Cymru museum.
From BBC • May 30, 2026
The museum will shut down for the public entirely on March 15 and is scheduled to reopen the following spring, ahead of the 2028 L.A.
From Los Angeles Times • May 28, 2026
Researchers from Germany and the Seychelles investigated the evolutionary history of the saltwater crocodile by comparing DNA from modern animals with genetic material taken from historical museum specimens.
From Science Daily • May 28, 2026
In response, the museum had decided to put its most valuable works behind glass.
From "The Mona Lisa Vanishes" by Nicholas Day
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.
