dolmen

noun

dol·​men ˈdōl-mən How to pronounce dolmen (audio) ˈdȯl- How to pronounce dolmen (audio)
ˈdäl-
: a prehistoric monument of two or more upright stones supporting a horizontal stone slab found especially in Britain and France and thought to be a tomb

Illustration of dolmen

Illustration of dolmen

Examples of dolmen in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
She’s squatted on her heels within a tight copse of five or six stones leaning like dolmens, chin on chest as if an engrossing thing lies between her feet. Literary Hub, 28 Aug. 2025 And sometimes the larger dolmens did seem to be roofs, with stones and earth piled around them to form what might have been a tomb. Rosanna Warren, Harper's Magazine, 25 June 2024 Many features found elsewhere in megalithic Stone Age structures can be found here, like dolmens — where two or more standing stones have a single large stone lying on top of them. Joshua Rapp Learn, Discover Magazine, 27 Mar. 2024 Lundbye depicts dolmens in profile repeatedly and, in one watercolor drawing, from the inside. Holland Cotter, New York Times, 23 Mar. 2023 There are dolmens hidden out here in the jagged ramble and sobbing wind, ancient monoliths built by pre-historic farmers. Josh Condon, Robb Report, 5 Mar. 2023

Word History

Etymology

French, probably modification of Cornish tolmen, from tol hole + men stone

First Known Use

1859, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler
The first known use of dolmen was in 1859

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Cite this Entry

“Dolmen.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/dolmen. Accessed 7 Sep. 2025.

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