waxwork

American  

[waks-wurk] / ˈwæksˌwɜrk /

noun

1. a figure, ornament, or other object made of wax, or especially the life-size effigy of a person.

2. the bittersweet, Celastrus scandens.

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waxwork British  

/ ˈwæksˌwɜːk /

noun

1. an object reproduced in wax, esp as an ornament

2. a life-size lifelike figure, esp of a famous person, reproduced in wax

3. (plural; functioning as singular or plural) a museum or exhibition of wax figures or objects

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Other Word Forms

• waxworker noun

Etymology

Origin of waxwork

First recorded in 1690–1700; wax ¹ + work

Example Sentences

Later, in England, Little gains fame as the waxwork impresario Madame Tussaud.

From The Wall Street Journal • Mar. 12, 2026

But she was also once a maker of waxwork likenesses on display at Madame Tussauds, including the late Queen's husband Prince Philip and former prime minister Sir Tony Blair among the models she made.

From BBC • Jan. 22, 2026

A waxwork figure of French President Emmanuel Macron has been stolen from a museum in Paris by environmental activists who disguised themselves as employees.

From BBC • Jun. 2, 2025

The MMA fighter's father, Tony McGregor, unveiled the waxwork in August 2017.

From BBC • Nov. 28, 2024

It was a museum used for propaganda displays of various kinds—scale models of rocket bombs and Floating Fortresses, waxwork tableaux illustrating enemy atrocities, and the like.

From "1984" by George Orwell