monument

noun

mon·​u·​ment ˈmän-yə-mənt 

1

obsolete : a burial vault : sepulchre

2

: a written legal document or record : treatise

3

a(1)

: a lasting evidence, reminder, or example of someone or something notable or great

(2)

: a distinguished person

b

: a memorial stone or a building erected in remembrance of a person or event

4

archaic : an identifying mark : evidence

also : portent, sign

5

obsolete : a carved statue : effigy

6

: a boundary or position marker (such as a stone)

7

: national monument

8

: a written tribute

Synonyms

• tombstone
• stone
• plaque

Examples of monument in a Sentence

They have erected a monument in his honor.

the Quakers disapproved of monuments, regarding them as idolatrous, so thousands of Nantucketers spend their eternal rest in complete anonymity

Recent Examples on the Web

Even so, last year, the city of Hartford picked up the tab for $150,000 in maintenance that covered cutting down dead trees that posed a safety hazard; hauling away illegally dumped items and removing of overgrowth and mowing around hundreds of headstones and monuments. —Kenneth R. Gosselin, Hartford Courant, 6 July 2025

The memorial would replace an earlier monument of King at the corner of Reading Road and Martin Luther King Jr. Drive. —Scott Wartman, The Enquirer, 3 July 2025

See what changes happened at the park Safety tips when visiting parks, monuments and preserves The National Park Service offers a list of recommendations and tips to keep you safe when visiting parks. —Jalen Williams, Freep.com, 2 July 2025

If successful, the legislature would ask the State Capitol Commission to place a plaque or bronze monument at the Motlow Tunnel entrance honoring the work of the enslaved men, prisoners, and stonecutters who constructed the building, listing names of all who are known. —Vivian Jones, The Tennessean, 2 July 2025

Word History

Etymology

Middle English, from Anglo-French, from Latin monumentum, literally, memorial, from monēre to remind — more at mind

First Known Use

13th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Phrases Containing monument

• national monument

Kids Definition

monument

noun

mon·​u·​ment ˈmän-yə-mənt 

1

: something that serves as a memorial

especially : a building, pillar, stone, or statue honoring a person or event

2

: a work, saying, or deed that lasts or that is worth preserving

the book is a monument of scholarship

3

: a boundary marker (as a stone)

4

: a place of historic interest or natural beauty set aside and maintained by the government as public property