ziggurat
Americannoun
noun
Etymology
Origin of ziggurat
First recorded in 1875–80, ziggurat is from the Akkadian word ziqquratu
Explanation
A ziggurat is a rectangular temple or terraced mound built by ancient Assyrians and Babylonians. Visit Iran and you might have a chance to see the Choqa Zanbil, one of the best preserved ancient ziggurats. Ziggurat comes from the Assyrian ziqquratu meaning "height, pinnacle." Some people believe the top of each ziggurat was used as a shrine. Others believe it was a high place where priests could seek refuge during floods. Today, this tiered rectangular shape still inspires certain architecture, particularly hotels or massive buildings.
Vocabulary lists containing ziggurat
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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.
Sotheby’s has moved into Marcel Breuer’s 1966 modernist landmark that looks like an inverted ziggurat and once famously housed the Whitney Museum of American Art.
From The Wall Street Journal • Nov. 17, 2025
In 1990, the ziggurat reopened as L.A.’s first factory outlet mall, and in 2005, the Citadel launched a grand-reopening after adding an additional 126,000 square feet of retail space.
From Los Angeles Times • Nov. 14, 2023
Arquitectonica’s beachfront apartment house, the Babylon, for instance, with its multiple interwoven ziggurat wings, was condemned before it reached age 40.
From New York Times • Sep. 1, 2022
“There’s also influence from Egypt, from Mesopotamia’s ziggurat architecture, from Aztec architecture and from World War II bunkers, which is the first thing Denis showed me,” Vermette says.
From Los Angeles Times • Jan. 11, 2022
"They're up early. C'mon, we need to get to the ziggurat."
From "City of the Plague God" by Sarwat Chadda
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.
