Museum Definition & Meaning

  • American
  • British
  • Other Word Forms
  • Etymology
  • Examples
  • Related Words
  • Synonyms museum American [myoo-zee-uhm] / myuˈzi əm /

    noun

    1. a building or place where works of art, scientific specimens, or other objects of permanent value are kept and displayed.

    museum British / mjuːˈzɪəm /

    noun

    1. a place or building where objects of historical, artistic, or scientific interest are exhibited, preserved, or studied

    "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

    Other Word Forms

    • intermuseum adjective

    Etymology

    Origin of museum

    1605–15; < Latin mūsēum place sacred to the Muses, building devoted to learning or the arts (referring especially to the scholarly institute founded in Alexandria about 280 b.c.) < Greek Mouseîon, equivalent to Moûs ( a ) Muse + -eion suffix of place

    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.

    It comes at a time of growing pressure on Western powers to offer reparations for slavery and colonialism, and to return looted artefacts still kept in their museums.

    From BBC

    Police suspect Abdoulaye N. was one of two men who used a truck-mounted lift to gain access to the museum’s upper gallery.

    From The Wall Street Journal

    "It is important for the museum, and it is important for humanity and the history and the heritage."

    From Barron's

    Once she arrived, she realized the museum was celebrating the “Peanuts” 75th anniversary.

    From Los Angeles Times

    The title of the building isn’t a casual naming of the kind that happens when philanthropists donate to a museum and are honored with a wing named after them.

    From The Wall Street Journal

    Related Words

    • building
    • foundation
    • gallery
    • hall
    • institution
    • library
    • salon

    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.

    Tag » How Do You Spell Museum