statue
Americannoun
noun
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of statue
1300–50; Middle English < Middle French < Latin statua, noun derivative of statuere to set up, itself derivative of status ( see status)
Explanation
To stand as still as a statue is to stand absolutely still, a statue being a sculpture, after all. A statue is a specific kind of sculpture, one that clearly represents a person, an animal, or other living creature. There's no question that the first thing most people think of when they hear the word statue is the Statue of Liberty. The woman's name is Liberty and there she is, a statue. Any sculpture that represents a person (Liberty, George Washington, Gandhi, or the Mad Hatter) is called a statue. In New York's Central Park, there is a much beloved statue of a dog named Balto, a heroic husky from Alaska.
Vocabulary lists containing statue
Academy Awards, List 1
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"The Secret Water"
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Commonly Confused Words, List 3
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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.
Chicken Boy stood for years atop the Chicken Boy fried-chicken restaurant on Broadway downtown, inspiring writer Art Fein to label him “L.A.’s Statue of Liberty.”
From Los Angeles Times • May 12, 2026
And in a section about advances in structural engineering, the museum presents one of its signature possessions—the 1878, 9-foot-high forerunner model of the Statue of Liberty.
From The Wall Street Journal • May 10, 2026
Aotearoa New Zealand Statue of Peace, a local grassroots group that proposed the installation of the statue, said it was "unfortunate" that authorities rejected it.
From BBC • Apr. 28, 2026
Current US passports depict multiple scenes from the country's history such as the Moon landing along with historic sites including the Statue of Liberty.
From Barron's • Apr. 28, 2026
I didn’t exactly expect to find a Statue of Zeus hiding behind the picket fence.
From "The Seven Wonders of Sassafras Springs" by Betty G. Birney
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.
