waxworks

[ waks-wurks ]

/ ˈwæksˌwɜrks /

noun, plural wax·works. (usually used with a singular verb)

an exhibition of or a museum for displaying wax figures, ornaments, etc.

Nearby words

waxing moon, waxleaf privet, waxplant, waxwing, waxwork, waxworks, waxy, waxy degeneration, waxy kidney, waxy spleen, way

Origin of waxworks

1690–1700; wax¹ + works

Definition for waxworks (2 of 2)

waxwork

[ waks-wurk ]

/ ˈwæksˌwɜrk /

noun

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

the bittersweet, Celastrus scandens.

Origin of waxwork

First recorded in 1690–1700; wax¹ + work

Related forms

wax·work·er, noun

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Examples from the Web for waxworks

The effigy is of painted wood and is amazingly lifelike, though smacking decidedly of the figures in a waxworks exhibition.
The Cathedrals and Churches of the Rhine|Francis Miltoun
In another day most of them would have been candidates for a waxworks or the formaldehyde of a specimen bottle.
Accidental Flight|Floyd L. Wallace
In the autumn of last year I was taken to see some waxworks.
The Legacy of Cain|Wilkie Collins
Easton suggested that a special saloon carriage might be engaged, and they could go and visit Madame Tussaud's Waxworks.
The Ragged Trousered Philanthropists|Robert Tressell

So Cooper Union provided a museum of waxworks and many strange, natural-history specimens.
Little Journeys to the Homes of the Great, Volume 11 (of 14)|Elbert Hubbard

British Dictionary definitions for waxworks

waxwork

/ (ˈwæksˌwɜːk) /

noun

an object reproduced in wax, esp as an ornament

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

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

Derived Forms

waxworker, noun

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012