Smithsonian Institution

American  

[smith-soh-nee-uhn] / smɪθˈsoʊ ni ən /

noun

1. an institution in Washington, D.C., founded 1846 with a grant left by James Smithson, for the increase and diffusion of knowledge: U.S. national museum and repository.

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Smithsonian Institution British  

/ smɪθˈsəʊnɪən /

noun

1. a national museum and institution in Washington, D.C., founded in 1846 from a bequest by James Smithson, primarily concerned with ethnology, zoology, and astrophysics

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Smithsonian Institution Cultural  

1. A group of over a dozen museums and research and publication facilities, such as the National Air and Space Museum, the Museum of Natural History, the Museum of History and Technology, the National Zoo, and the National Gallery of Art. Many of the Smithsonian's buildings are on the Washington Mall. The institution is named after James Smithson, an Englishman whose bequest enabled its founding in the nineteenth century.

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Example Sentences

She added that she wanted to visit as many Smithsonian Institution museums -- run by the US government -- as she could and was most excited about the Museum of Natural History.

From Barron's • Nov. 14, 2025

In addition to Peppe and Flynn, the research team included scientists from Baylor University, New Mexico State University, the Smithsonian Institution, the University of Edinburgh, University College London and multiple U.S. and international institutions.

From Science Daily • Oct. 26, 2025

To understand this development, it might help to consider the Smithsonian’s early history, as recounted in “Smithson’s Gamble: The Smithsonian Institution in American Life, 1836-1906.”

From The Wall Street Journal • Oct. 3, 2025

US President Donald Trump has signed an executive order targeting the Smithsonian Institution, which operates more than 20 museums and research centres visited by millions yearly in Washington DC and New York City.

From BBC • Mar. 27, 2025

In 1966 the discoverers prepared to turn over to the Smithsonian Institution the cigar box in which they deposited their very first sample of the elusive element.

From "Big Science" by Michael Hiltzik