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
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Nouns
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.
See Examples For:
Later, a lorry transported Khamenei's coffin slowly through the crowds towards the Imam Reza shrine, eventually reaching the complex as night fell.
From BBC ● Jul. 9, 2026
At the shrine, dozens of clerics stood ready to pray over the coffin before it was carried on to the city of Karbala.
From Barron's ● Jul. 8, 2026
Several notable figures have been buried in the shrine over the centuries, including several former Iranian shahs, as well as former president Ebrahim Raisi.
From Barron's ● Jul. 8, 2026
Following a procession at the shrine of Imam Ali, Shia Islam's first imam, ceremonies will continue in Karbala before the body returns to Iran.
From BBC ● Jul. 4, 2026
Heading straight for Bon Bibi’s shrine, Ma began to light incense and chant prayers.
From "Tiger Boy" by Mitali Perkins
To Steve Jobs, they will build shrines; to his outgoing successor Tim Cook, they will dedicate case studies.
From The Wall Street Journal ● May 8, 2026
In a salty touch, the first thing Kenna does is remove his roadside cross, claiming he hated memorial shrines.
From Los Angeles Times ● Mar. 12, 2026
The overall increase is partly due to government policies to promote attractions from Mount Fuji's majestic slopes to shrines and sushi bars in more far-flung parts of the archipelago.
From Barron's ● Jan. 20, 2026
Speaking on behalf of the Adunni Olorisha Trust, Akinsanya said the carver's "craftsmanship is visible in the ritual figures, majestic pillars, and beautifully crafted roofs adorning many of the shrines".
From BBC ● Jan. 19, 2026
“No. It is merely a shrine meant to honor her. Similar shrines abound on my property, and all can be dangerous.”
From "Fablehaven" by Brandon Mull
Where ’twas shrined in my heart I thy image discrown, And from out thy high heaven I hurl thee adown!
From Jeremiah A Drama in Nine Scenes by Zweig, Stefan
I say 'mutatis mutandis', because the historical development of a group of imaginary concepts shrined in tradition and romance can never be quite the same as that of the people who conceive them.
From Five Stages of Greek Religion by Murray, Gilbert
Cecilia reads it until each comforting assertion is shrined within her heart and doubt is no longer possible.
From Airy Fairy Lilian by Margaret Wolfe Hamilton (AKA Duchess)
Touch not the ark where purity in woman's form is shrined!
From The Continental Monthly, Vol 3 No 3, March 1863 Devoted To Literature And National Policy by Various
Wherefore her heart, that had shrined a god, was now empty.
From The Stars in the Pool A Prose Poem for Lovers by Wallace, Edna Kingsley
Elsewhere he speaks of Tweed shrining the music of his cradle song, and the requiem he would most prefer—may that day be long in coming!
From In the Border Country by W. S.
"May all that cling to sprays of time, like me, Be sweetly wafted over sky and sea By rose-breaths shrining maidens like to thee!"
From The Poems of Sidney Lanier by Lanier, Sidney
The wisest soul, by anguish torn, Will soon unlearn the lore it knew; And when the shrining casket's worn, The gem within will tarnish too.
From The Complete Poems of Sir Thomas Moore Collected by Himself with Explanatory Notes by Rossetti, William Michael
Bosomed with the Blessed One, He shall mind her of her Son, Once so folded from all harms In her shrining arms.
From The Second Book of Modern Verse; a selection from the work of contemporaneous American poets by Rittenhouse, Jessie Belle
Bosomed with the Blessed One, He shall mind her of her Son, Once so folded from all harms, In her shrining arms.
From The Home Book of Verse — Volume 1 by Stevenson, Burton Egbert
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.
