noun
verb
Other Word Forms
Noun Inflected Forms
Etymology
Origin of souvenir
1765–75; < French, noun use of ( se ) souvenir to remember < Latin subvenīre to come to mind, equivalent to sub- sub- + venīre to come
Explanation
A souvenir is a keepsake or a remembrance. A telltale sign that someone has visited Paris is the tiny, metal Eiffel Tower hanging from her keychain as a souvenir. First recorded in 1775 as meaning “a remembrance or memory,” the noun souvenir stems from the French souvenir “to remember, come to mind.” A few years later, it took on the sense of “a token” of an event or experience. A song by Tears for Fears goes, “Love is a promise, love is a souvenir, once given never forgotten, never let it disappear.” Here, souvenir refers to a feeling, but more often it refers to something tangible, like a memento, gift, or trophy.
Vocabulary lists containing souvenir
Inside Out & Back Again
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Bronx Masquerade
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Mardi Gras: Fun
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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.
Merchandise and souvenir sellers lined the streets at the Azteca on Saturday.
From BBC • Jul. 5, 2026
A last-minute ticket swap with a fellow spectator got him on to Centre Court for a Murray victory in 2015 - and he came away with an incredible souvenir.
From BBC • Jul. 5, 2026
Silva Miner’s husband belongs in the hall of fame for spouses of the souvenir obsessed.
From The Wall Street Journal • Jul. 1, 2026
Sitting at its five-stool lobby bar, I thought I scored a World Cup souvenir cup without even going to a match.
From The Wall Street Journal • Jun. 16, 2026
Because he's “walked the earth for 30 years,” he wants to “leave a certain souvenir in the form of drawings or paintings in gratitude.”
From "Vincent and Theo: The Van Gogh Brothers" by Deborah Heiligman
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.
