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

The project sits unfinished as a monument to folly.

… Stonehenge yet stands: a monument of the earlier time when the Roman name was unknown in Britain …

—Charles Dickens

(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 of monument

• 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

In the village of Hula in southern Lebanon, a monument engraved with the names of almost 100 Lebanese killed here in 1948 just after the creation of the state of Israel lies covered in graffiti and smashed to pieces. —Jane Arraf, NPR, 3 Nov. 2025

The ceremony featured a dazzling light and music show outside the museum, with massive screens displaying Egypt's ancient monuments. —Ayat Al-Tawy, ABC News, 2 Nov. 2025

The functional centerpiece is a six-story staircase, which leads museumgoers past stone monuments and pharaonic statues arranged in reverse chronological order. —Oscar Holland, CNN Money, 31 Oct. 2025

At the museum’s center sits the six-story Grand Staircase with a view of the pyramids and an atrium containing monuments, pharaonic statues and sarcophagi. —Charlene Gubash, NBC news, 30 Oct. 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