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

The James Marshall monument was built at the urging of Native Sons of the Golden West, a fraternal organization devoted to preserving California’s settler past; members had to be white men born in the state. —Jennifer Wilson, New Yorker, 4 May 2026

Today the monument is still virtually inaccessible due to being surrounded by cars. —Lucius Riccio, New York Daily News, 3 May 2026

Heizer specifically engineered it so that future humans, scavenging for scrap in a postapocalyptic scenario, would be forced to turn back from his monument empty-handed. —Olivia Kan-Sperling, Artforum, 2 May 2026

Then there’s blocking the release of the Epstein files and unilaterally spending hundreds of millions on monuments to himself and billions on his personal war with Iran, while calling the issue of affordability a hoax. —Sun Sentinel Editorial Board, Sun Sentinel, 2 May 2026

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