shrine
Americannoun
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a building or other shelter, often of a stately or sumptuous character, enclosing the remains or relics of a saint or other holy person and forming an object of religious veneration and pilgrimage.
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any place or object hallowed by its history or associations.
a historic shrine.
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any structure or place consecrated or devoted to some saint, holy person, or deity, as an altar, chapel, church, or temple.
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a receptacle for sacred relics; a reliquary.
verb (used with object)
noun
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a place of worship hallowed by association with a sacred person or object
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a container for sacred relics
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the tomb of a saint or other holy person
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a place or site venerated for its association with a famous person or event
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RC Church a building, alcove, or shelf arranged as a setting for a statue, picture, or other representation of Christ, the Virgin Mary, or a saint
verb
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of shrine
before 1000; Middle English schrine, Old English scrīn (cognate with German Schrein, Dutch schrijn ) < Latin scrīnium case for books and papers
Explanation
Set up some candles and a photograph of someone important in your life in the corner of a room where you spend time reflecting silently, and you've created a shrine. Shrine comes from the Latin scrinium meaning "case or box for keeping papers." Think of a shrine as a niche or case in which the spirit of someone special is kept. It could be a statue or some other form of commemoration to either a person or a relic. A shrine can be as small as a tiny mantel in your house or it can be as massive as a building commemorating, or shrining, a sacred person.
Vocabulary lists containing shrine
World Religions
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Maus I: My Father Bleeds History
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Ancient Rome - Introductory
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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 southwestern French town's important Catholic shrine welcomed Jean-Paul II in 1983 and in 2004, as well as Benedict in 2008.
From Barron's • May 16, 2026
The shrine is the ornate burial place of Ali -- the Prophet Mohammed's son-in-law, the fourth Islamic caliph and the first Shia Imam.
From Barron's • May 4, 2026
Each time their shrine was consulted, the message was said to be the same: they would return.
From BBC • May 2, 2026
Their loved one's ashes are placed inside and the space turned into an ancestral shrine.
From BBC • Mar. 31, 2026
Heading straight for Bon Bibi’s shrine, Ma began to light incense and chant prayers.
From "Tiger Boy" by Mitali Perkins
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.
