ORNAMENT | Meaning, Definition In Cambridge English Dictionary

Meaning of ornament in English ornamentnoun uk /ˈɔː.nə.mənt/ us /ˈɔːr.nə.mənt/ Add to word list Add to word list C2 [ C ] an object that is beautiful rather than useful: a glass ornament garden ornaments such as statues and fountains decorations or a decoration
  • decorationIt's time to put away the Christmas decorations.
  • ornamentationThe artifacts included a gold bracelet with beaded ornamentation.
  • adornmentShe wore no adornments except for a small watch.
  • embellishmentThe building is plain, avoiding all unnecessary embellishments.
  • trimmingI want a plain black cardigan with no trimmings.
  • trimI like that tan sofa with the bright blue trim.
See more results » [ U ] formal decoration that is added to increase the beauty of something: The building relies on clever design rather than on ornament for its impressive effect. Decorating or making something attractive
  • accessorize
  • add lustre to something
  • adorn
  • adornment
  • beautification
  • embellishment
  • festoon
  • festoon something with something
  • fillip
  • finished with something
  • non-utilitarian
  • ornamentation
  • ornate
  • over-glamorize
  • overdecorate
  • unembellished
  • window dressing
  • yarn bombing
  • yassification
  • yassify
See more results » ornamentverb [ T ]   formal uk /ˈɔː.nə.ment/ us /ˈɔːr.nə.ment/ to add decoration to something: She ornamented her letters with little drawings in the margin. Decorating or making something attractive
  • accessorize
  • add lustre to something
  • adorn
  • adornment
  • beautification
  • embellishment
  • festoon
  • festoon something with something
  • fillip
  • finished with something
  • non-utilitarian
  • ornamentation
  • ornate
  • over-glamorize
  • overdecorate
  • unembellished
  • window dressing
  • yarn bombing
  • yassification
  • yassify
See more results » (Definition of ornament from the Cambridge Advanced Learner's Dictionary & Thesaurus © Cambridge University Press)

ornament | American Dictionary

ornamentnoun [ C ] us /ˈɔr·nə·mənt/ Add to word list Add to word list an object that is decorative rather than useful: They spent decades collecting these colorful, Victorian-era ornaments.

ornament

verb [ T ] us /ˈɔr·nəˌment, -mənt/
Climbing plants ornamented the wall.

ornamental

adjective us /ˌɔr·nəˈmen·təl/
The buttons on the sleeves are just ornamental. (Definition of ornament from the Cambridge Academic Content Dictionary © Cambridge University Press)

Examples of ornament

ornament All of them wear elaborate headdresses, capes, shoes, and different types of personal ornaments. From the Cambridge English Corpus He believed that the glyphs, ornaments, idols, stelae, and altars were built up of numerical symbols and dedicated to number worship. From the Cambridge English Corpus His sonatas show great concern with virtuosity of the bow, alternating sequential patterns with the articulation of ornaments. From the Cambridge English Corpus The anterior opercular segment is ornamented anteriorly by scales less dense than on the deltoid plates. From the Cambridge English Corpus The wife was delighted to give him her last ornaments, deeply obliged to have been of some use to her lord and master. From the Cambridge English Corpus Ventral surface of posterior end ornamented with longitudinal and oblique cuticular ridges. From the Cambridge English Corpus During rituals, the ruler changed into a supernatural being with the material assistance of deity masks, clothing, and ornaments. From the Cambridge English Corpus What of the possibility that the metal ornaments relate to extra-community links between women, established in opposition to male kin relations? From the Cambridge English Corpus We took only quilts and mattresses, money and gold ornaments. From the Cambridge English Corpus 326 or ankle ornaments, and are sufficient to individualize numerous players. From the Cambridge English Corpus The lateral surface of this bone is not ornamented by the deep pits and rugosities typical of other deep-sea hatchetfishes. From the Cambridge English Corpus The lateral surface of each centrum is ornamented by prominent ridges and fossae. From the Cambridge English Corpus They were bringing religious scrolls and other symbolic ornaments. From the Cambridge English Corpus One of the buildings was slightly larger and more elaborately ornamented of the two and was dated 1589. From the Cambridge English Corpus The rest of the skeleton had disappeared; ornaments and offerings were absent. From the Cambridge English Corpus See all examples of ornament These examples are from corpora and from sources on the web. Any opinions in the examples do not represent the opinion of the Cambridge Dictionary editors or of Cambridge University Press or its licensors.

Collocations with ornament

ornament

These are words often used in combination with ornament.

Click on a collocation to see more examples of it.

architectural ornamentI observed earlier that gold is most often either an architectural ornament or an attribute of nature. From the Cambridge English Corpus ear ornamentNote the stylized ear, complete with ear ornament. From the Cambridge English Corpus garden ornamentIt should not be used as just another aggregate or as a garden ornament and decoration. From the Hansard archive Example from the Hansard archive. Contains Parliamentary information licensed under the Open Parliament Licence v3.0 These examples are from corpora and from sources on the web. Any opinions in the examples do not represent the opinion of the Cambridge Dictionary editors or of Cambridge University Press or its licensors. See all collocations with ornament What is the pronunciation of ornament?

Translations of ornament

in Chinese (Traditional) 裝飾物,飾品, 裝飾,擺設, 裝飾,點綴… See more in Chinese (Simplified) 装饰物,饰品, 装饰,摆设, 装饰,点缀… See more in Spanish adorno, ornamento, decoración… See more in Portuguese ornamento, ornamentar… See more in Marathi in Japanese in Turkish in French in Catalan in Dutch in Tamil in Hindi in Gujarati in Danish in Swedish in Malay in German in Norwegian in Urdu in Ukrainian in Telugu in Bengali in Czech in Indonesian in Thai in Vietnamese in Polish in Korean in Italian अलंकार, सुशोभीकरणाच्या वस्तू, सुशोभीकरण… See more 装飾… See more süs, süs eşyası, biblo… See more ornement, décorer… See more guarniment… See more ornament, versieren… See more பயனுள்ளதை விட அழகான ஒரு பொருள், ஏதோவொன்றின் அழகை அதிகரிக்க சேர்க்கப்படும் அலங்காரம்… See more अलंकार, सजावट की वस्तु, (किसी चीज़ की सुंदरता बढाने हेतु) सजावट… See more સુશોભનો, સુશોભન, શણગાર… See more pynt, udsmykning, pynte… See more ornament, ornamentera, smycka… See more barang perhiasan, menghias… See more das Ornament, verzieren… See more pynt(egjenstand), ornament, pynte… See more آرائشی اشیا, گہنا, زیور… See more прикраса, орнамент, прикрашати… See more ఆభరణం, అలంకారం / ఉపయోగకరమైనది కాకుండా అందంగా ఉండే వస్తువు, దేనిదైనా అందాన్ని పెంచడానికి జోడించిన అలంకరణ… See more অলঙ্কার, সাজসজ্জা যা কিছুর সৌন্দর্য বাড়াতে যোগ করা হয়… See more ornament, (vy)zdobit… See more hiasan, menghias… See more เครื่องประดับ, ประดับ… See more đồ trang trí, trang trí… See more ozdoba, ornament, ozdabiać… See more 장식품… See more ornamento, soprammobile, ornare… See more Need a translator?

Get a quick, free translation!

Translator tool

Browse

orison Orkney Orkney Islands Orlando ornament ornamental ornamentally ornamentation ornamented {{#randomImageQuizHook.filename}} {{#randomImageQuizHook.isQuiz}} Test your vocabulary with our fun image quizzes Try a quiz now {{/randomImageQuizHook.isQuiz}} {{^randomImageQuizHook.isQuiz}} {{/randomImageQuizHook.isQuiz}} {{/randomImageQuizHook.filename}}

More meanings of ornament

  • hood ornament
See all meanings

Word of the Day

be as fresh as a daisy

to be full of energy and enthusiasm

About this

Blog

The beginning of the end? Phrases with ‘end’ (2)

December 10, 2025 Read More

New Words

vibe working December 08, 2025 More new words has been added to list To top AI icon AI Assistant Contents EnglishAmericanExamplesCollocationsTranslations AI icon AI Assistant {{#displayLoginPopup}} Cambridge Dictionary +Plus

Learn more with +Plus

Sign up for free and get access to exclusive content: Free word lists and quizzes from Cambridge Tools to create your own word lists and quizzes Word lists shared by our community of dictionary fans Sign up now or Log in Cambridge Dictionary +Plus

Learn more with +Plus

Create word lists and quizzes for free Sign up now or Log in {{/displayLoginPopup}} {{#displayClassicSurvey}} {{/displayClassicSurvey}}
  • Cambridge Dictionary +Plus
  • My profile
  • +Plus help
  • Log out
AI Assistant Dictionary Definitions Clear explanations of natural written and spoken English English Learner’s Dictionary Essential British English Essential American English Translations Click on the arrows to change the translation direction. Bilingual Dictionaries English–Chinese (Simplified) Chinese (Simplified)–English English–Chinese (Traditional) Chinese (Traditional)–English English–Danish Danish–English English–Dutch Dutch–English English–French French–English English–German German–English English–Indonesian Indonesian–English English–Italian Italian–English English–Japanese Japanese–English English–Norwegian Norwegian–English English–Polish Polish–English English–Portuguese Portuguese–English English–Spanish Spanish–English English–Swedish Swedish–English Semi-bilingual Dictionaries English–Arabic English–Bengali English–Catalan English–Czech English–Gujarati English–Hindi English–Korean English–Malay English–Marathi English–Russian English–Tamil English–Telugu English–Thai English–Turkish English–Ukrainian English–Urdu English–Vietnamese Translate Grammar Thesaurus Pronunciation Cambridge Dictionary +Plus Games {{userName}}
  • Cambridge Dictionary +Plus
  • My profile
  • +Plus help
  • Log out
Log in / Sign up English (UK) Change English (UK) English (US) Español Português 中文 (简体) 正體中文 (繁體) Dansk Deutsch Français Italiano Nederlands Norsk Polski Русский Türkçe Tiếng Việt Svenska Українська 日本語 한국어 ગુજરાતી தமிழ் తెలుగు বাঙ্গালি मराठी हिंदी Follow us Choose a dictionary
  • Recent and Recommended {{#preferredDictionaries}} {{name}} {{/preferredDictionaries}}
  • Definitions Clear explanations of natural written and spoken English English Learner’s Dictionary Essential British English Essential American English
  • Grammar and thesaurus Usage explanations of natural written and spoken English Grammar Thesaurus
  • Pronunciation British and American pronunciations with audio English Pronunciation
  • Translation Click on the arrows to change the translation direction. Bilingual Dictionaries
    • English–Chinese (Simplified) Chinese (Simplified)–English
    • English–Chinese (Traditional) Chinese (Traditional)–English
    • English–Danish Danish–English
    • English–Dutch Dutch–English
    • English–French French–English
    • English–German German–English
    • English–Indonesian Indonesian–English
    • English–Italian Italian–English
    • English–Japanese Japanese–English
    • English–Norwegian Norwegian–English
    • English–Polish Polish–English
    • English–Portuguese Portuguese–English
    • English–Spanish Spanish–English
    • English–Swedish Swedish–English
    Semi-bilingual Dictionaries English–Arabic English–Bengali English–Catalan English–Czech English–Gujarati English–Hindi English–Korean English–Malay English–Marathi English–Russian English–Tamil English–Telugu English–Thai English–Turkish English–Ukrainian English–Urdu English–Vietnamese
  • Dictionary +Plus Word Lists
Choose your language English (UK) English (US) Español Português 中文 (简体) 正體中文 (繁體) Dansk Deutsch Français Italiano Nederlands Norsk Polski Русский Türkçe Tiếng Việt Svenska Українська 日本語 한국어 ગુજરાતી தமிழ் తెలుగు বাঙ্গালি मराठी हिंदी Contents
  • English   NounVerb
  • American   
    • Noun 
      • ornament
    • Verb 
      • ornament
    • Adjective 
      • ornamental
  • Examples
  • Collocations
  • Translations
  • Grammar
  • All translations
My word lists

To add ornament to a word list please sign up or log in.

Sign up or Log in My word lists

Add ornament to one of your lists below, or create a new one.

{{#verifyErrors}}

{{message}}

{{/verifyErrors}} {{^verifyErrors}} {{#message}}

{{message}}

{{/message}} {{^message}}

Something went wrong.

{{/message}} {{/verifyErrors}} {{name}} More Go to your word lists {{#verifyErrors}}

{{message}}

{{/verifyErrors}} {{^verifyErrors}} {{#message}}

{{message}}

{{/message}} {{^message}}

Something went wrong.

{{/message}} {{/verifyErrors}} Tell us about this example sentence: The word in the example sentence does not match the entry word. The sentence contains offensive content. Cancel Submit Thanks! Your feedback will be reviewed. {{#verifyErrors}}

{{message}}

{{/verifyErrors}} {{^verifyErrors}} {{#message}}

{{message}}

{{/message}} {{^message}}

There was a problem sending your report.

{{/message}} {{/verifyErrors}} The word in the example sentence does not match the entry word. The sentence contains offensive content. Cancel Submit Thanks! Your feedback will be reviewed. {{#verifyErrors}}

{{message}}

{{/verifyErrors}} {{^verifyErrors}} {{#message}}

{{message}}

{{/message}} {{^message}}

There was a problem sending your report.

{{/message}} {{/verifyErrors}}

Tag » How Do You Spell Ornament