Xanadu
Americannoun
Etymology
Origin of Xanadu
S.T. Coleridge's modification, in the poem “Kubla Khan” (1797), of Xandu (17th-century spelling), modern Shangdu ( Pinyin: shàng dū), the site of Kublai Khan's summer residence in SE Mongolia
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.
The U.S. is forever a soccer nation on the verge, teeming with self-styled experts but still chasing that sort of Lake Placid breakthrough that turns it into a proper, stark-raving futbol Xanadu.
From The Wall Street Journal • Jun. 26, 2026
If you think photonics has the lead, the leaders in that category are Xanadu Quantum Technologies and PsiQuantum, also still private.
From Barron's • May 21, 2026
Xanadu Quantum Technologies: Less than two months after its U.S. trading debut, Xanadu stock cratered when the company filed a prospectus allowing shareholders to register their stock for sale.
From Barron's • May 15, 2026
Xanadu is betting on photonic quantum computing, which uses light particles to carry and process information.
From Barron's • May 15, 2026
Levy's Lodge—that was what the sign at the coast road said—was a Xanadu of the senses; within its insulated walls there was something that could gratify anything.
From "A Confederacy of Dunces" by John Kennedy Toole
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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.