obelisk

American  

[ob-uh-lisk] / ˈɒb ə lɪsk /

noun

1. a tapering, four-sided shaft of stone, usually monolithic and having a pyramidal apex.

2. something resembling such a shaft.

3. an obelus.

4. Printing. dagger.

---

obelisk British  

/ ˈɒbɪlɪsk /

noun

1. a stone pillar having a square or rectangular cross section and sides that taper towards a pyramidal top, often used as a monument in ancient Egypt

2. printing another name for dagger

---

Other Word Forms

• obeliscal adjective
• obeliskoid adjective

Etymology

Origin of obelisk

1540–50; < Latin obeliscus < Greek obelískos small spit, equivalent to obel ( ós ) spit, pointed pillar + -iskos diminutive suffix

Explanation

Next time you visit the nation’s capital, you can wow tourists by telling them the Washington Monument is an obelisk — a tall, narrow stone pillar that tapers to a point at the top and commemorates an important person or event. Obelisks were all the rage in ancient Egypt and still in vogue in Rome’s heyday. The Egyptians associated the skinny four-sided monoliths with the sun god Ra and thought they looked like the sun’s rays shining down. Herodotus was among the first writers to describe obelisks, and it’s to him that we owe the word; it comes from the Greek obelos, meaning “nail” or “pointed pillar.” History buffs can still spot obelisks, also called “Cleopatra’s Needles,” everywhere from Myanmar to Manhattan.

Example Sentences

Despite having built an obelisk of skulls, Dr. Kelson is one of the few remaining uninfected who has lost neither his reason nor his soul.

From The Wall Street Journal • Jan. 15, 2026

The 92-year-old Pistoletto's most famous work, Il Terzo Paradiso, comprises a three-metre-tall mirrored obelisk and a series of blocks tracing out the mathematical symbol for infinity in the sand.

From Barron's • Nov. 11, 2025

Among the GEM showstoppers are a 3,200-year-old, 16m-long suspended obelisk of the powerful pharaoh, Ramesses II, and his massive 11m-high statue.

From BBC • Oct. 31, 2025

In Venice, Meals was equally moved when he accidentally came upon an obelisk marking the spot where, in April 1942, more than a thousand Japanese Americans boarded buses for Manzanar.

From Los Angeles Times • Oct. 25, 2025

I am so excited to think that my pictures will be given to the stone carvers and they will carve them into the obelisk.

From "The (Mostly) True Story of Cleopatra's Needle" by Dan Gutman