ephemera

noun

ephem·​era i-ˈfe-mə-rə 

-ˈfem-rə

plural ephemera also ephemerae i-ˈfe-mə-rē 

-ˈfem-rē

or ephemeras

1

: something of no lasting significance

—usually used in plural

2

ephemera plural : paper items (such as posters, broadsides, and tickets) that were originally meant to be discarded after use but have since become collectibles

Examples of ephemera in a Sentence

He has a large collection of old menus and other ephemera.

Recent Examples on the Web

In the same scroll, you can be confronted by images of life’s mundane ephemera and others of war and suffering. —Kristen Tauer, Footwear News, 6 Sep. 2025

Ticket-holders will also be able to explore a tight but impactful exhibition of vintage McQueen fashion and ephemera adjacent to the theater, at the Mansion at Hudson Yards. —José Criales-Unzueta, Vogue, 5 Sep. 2025

In his work, Fifield-Perez’s interdisciplinary practice centers the materiality of paper ephemera, everyday self- documents discarded after having fulfilled their purpose. —Jake Richardson, Mercury News, 1 Sep. 2025

Written in the flush of a new friendship with co-producer, engineer, and musician Sam Weber, the album unspools a suite of folk miniatures riven with discursive melodies as evocative as the cultural ephemera dotted through the lyrics. —Nina Corcoran, Pitchfork, 29 Aug. 2025

Word History

Etymology

New Latin, from Greek ephēmera, neuter plural of ephēmeros

First Known Use

1650, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Rhymes for ephemera

• femora